In a time of social distancing , a gargantuan teddy bear open enormous hugs sounds like a great way for people to safely cope with closing off . But Arizona State University’srobo - bear , which can see to hug by observe world , front like it ’s quick to give you the last embrace you ’ll ever finger .
As more and more robots are integrated into places of work like factories and distribution center , they need to be able to safely co - exist and work alongside their human twin . To engagement , the solution has been to either to segregate robots and hide them behind protective barriers so humans ca n’t get near them , or to wad them full of sensor so they can either autonomously fend off people or stop moving until it ’s dependable to do so again . humanity in reality working with robot , and not just beside them , is still a construct mostly relegated to science fabrication — but researchers are working on it .
https://gizmodo.com/an-r2-d2-robot-vacuum-is-exactly-the-chore-droid-im-loo-1843477080
Gif: ASU Interactive Robotics Lab (YouTube)
The biggest hurdle to subdue is that humans can be unpredictable , and attempting to pre - programme a robot to calculate for every potential movement and interaction with one is an act of futility . How a human peck up a part and hands it to a golem for the next measure in an meeting place line could be slightly different every unmarried time , which is why , more often than not , humans are alternatively trail to plow with automatic Centennial State - workers who can be program to be far more predictable . The problem with that advance is that it throttle a robot ’s power and adaptability , and for smaller company who may have dissimilar needs for a robot twenty-four hours by day , it makes investing in the ironware less likeable . The idealistic solution is a robot that can get wind tasks , and how to deal with hoi polloi , all on its own .
That ’s what being demonstratedin this videoshared byArizona State University ’s Interactive Robotics Labon YouTube . It ’s a protraction of enquiry first publishedthree years agoin a paper style , “ Bayesian Interaction Primitives : A SLAM Approach to Human - Robot Interaction . ” That ’s a mouthful , but the enquiry involve instruction golem how to employ their various sensor , including live feeds from picture cameras , to not only calculate out their environment and their emplacement in it ( SLAM is short for “ coincident localisation of function and mapping ” ) but also to tail the movements of a human and accurately predict their intend actions — be it simply reach an object over for a robot to reach out and catch , or in this case , comprehend a homo in a hug .
By simply watch a human being go through the motions a handful of times , the robot can efficaciously learn , all by itself , how to perform a hug . And it ’s not restrain to just the person who do the initial manifestation . The automaton find out how to mimic and perform these actions with anyone , no matter their shape or size , or even the motion they employ to lead up the hug . By learning on its own , and come up with generalizations that are refined through substantial - time reflection , the golem can quickly value that an incoming man is simply await for affection … hopefully .
By dressing the robot up as a giant lucullan teddy bear , the researchers are clearly trying to invoke an emotional reception in test bailiwick so that the resulting hug is performed more genuinely , like they were really squeeze another soul . The only job is that thanks to television games like Five Nights at Freddy ’s , and the terrifying animatronic performer at restaurants like Chuck E. Cheese , it ’s hard to imagine anyone approaching and embracing this dressed - up robot with anything but trepidation and terror . demise by robot teddy bear is now one more thing to really worry about .
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