Matt Hristovski Michael Di Nicola

www.scs.ryerson.ca

•WTF is Humanoid Robotics?•Why is it so popular?•What are Advantages/ Disadvantages?•Where are we going with it?

Robots that look like or mimic people Like an android?

Karel Čapek coins the term “Robot” – 1921

1930’s to 70’s: theory of humanoid shapes, electronics, and movement.

Not until 1970’s until a practical autonomous Robot of this type

Boom in development from 1980 to present

• Waseda University• The first fun-scale

anthropomorphic robot developed in the world

• Able to communicate in Japanese and measure distances and directions to objects using external receptors, artificial ears and eyes, and an artificial mouth

Waseda University Plays keyboard Not as versatile,

considered “specialist”

Able to read sheet music and play it

1985 - Hitachi’s WHL-11 (walking 13 s/step)

1986-1991 - Honda’s E series 1989 - Pacific Northwest

Laboratories’s Manny (42 degrees of freedom)

Present day: Honda, Hitachi, Military intuitions, NASA compete with designs

Looks and feels more “Human” Easier for integration in applied role Can perform some tasks better Good in science fiction (especially

Eastern Anime) Looks cool

Performs some tasks better Looks cool Makes good villains

Incredibly hard to implement Increasingly complex with every

function Terrible at performing tasks suitable

for wheels (landscape or high speeds) Technology (gyros, advanced servo

designs) Not trustworthy

$1million a unit Can go up stairs Play soccer Run 6km/h Carry 1kg 51.8v Lithium-ion30 mins endurance

Sings and Dances Androidish/ Gynoid Demonstrates humanMovement/speech

Intended for space Designed to work side by side with people Can carry 15kg Wheel chair design/mounted platforms

Large advancements in both interest and technology

Competitions between large corporations

Can do many tasks that were once near impossible to implement (play soccer?)

Still a ways off from popular sci-fi films like Terminator or I Robot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dKPkL2oto0