JAPAN: A Japanese professsor unveils the latest android that looks exactly like its inventor

Executing human tasks is not enough for modern-day robots that are made in Japan. They are increasingly required to not only act human, but also look human. A researcher at ATR, a robotics laboratory based in Kyoto, developed the latest version of its android called "Geminoid," which looks and moves exactly like its source, Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro. Ishiguro, who is the visiting group leader of the department of Communication Robots at ATR and professor at Osaka University, created his identical, but robotic twin by modelling and moulding it after his own body. The android's skin looks real and its hair was implanted with real specimens from the professor's head. When touched on the face, the android shows facial expressions as if it really felt pain, thanks to more than 50 sensors and a number of motors embedded under the skin. It can even breathe with the help of compressed air pumped into its body. In case its movements look unnatural or "robotic," the professor can use a remote control to help the android move its hands or neck. This can be done while sitting the source sits in front of monitors at a laboratory, where the professor can see live footage being transmitted from the android's eyes to the screens. The androids moves every bit of its mouth like the professor when it speaks, with the help of motion picture systems that moves its mouth at the same time as its source. With the android looking so much like him, Professor Ishiguro feels like the robot is just a part of himself. "I don't find any particular difference between talking through Geminoid and talking to myself. And curiously, when the body of Geminoid is touched by somebody, I get some very similar feelings of being touched though it is not exactly the same feeling of being touched," Ishiguro said, while a Reuters reporter sat and faced the android during the interview while the professor sat in a different room. Ishiguro said he and his team worked to physically model the android to look exactly like a human. He may have succeeded, as he testifies that he forgets that the android is not human. "At first, you may feel strange about the android. However, once getting drawn into a conversation, you will forget every trifling difference and feel totally comfortable to speak as you look it in the eyes," Ishiguro's android said, mimicking every movement of the professor's mouth. Ishiguro hopes that the android will allow people to make a presence without having to physically be at a specific location. For example, one can merely send its android to a meeting that is being held far away, while he or she can speak and move through the robot from a different location. The ability to control movement and speech can also allow one to feel like he or she is someone else, just by modelling the android's appearance into the person of desire. The institute is now upgrading the android to allow for more movement and hopes to unveil it within this year.

ITN Source | April 27, 2007

Tags:. .japanese. .however. .pain. .institute. .speech