Kirobo

Derived from the Japanese words for “hope” and “robot”, Kirobo was launched into space by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) along with literally tons of other supplies and machinery just last week. Kirobo was designed as a companion for International Space Station astronaut Koichi Wakata. Kirobo will also help in relaying information from Koichi to another robot on Earth.

The biggest challenge in making this robot was designing it so it could function in zero gravity. The robot talks, and can also recognize different faces and voices. It’s part of a program that aims to provide companionship for the elderly and/or lonely. For anyone who’s seen Robot & Frank (video clip further below), this is a pretty cool step in the direction of a future rife with sci-fi excitement.

Kirobo should spend about 18 months on the space station under the care of Koichi. I’m sure the other astronauts will get to play with him too, depending on how selfish Koichi is feeling. Too bad for them Kirobo only speaks Japanese.

The robot is a product of a collaboration between Dentsu, The University of Tokyo, Robo Garage, and Toyota. The overall goal of their Kibo Robot Project is to “help solve the problems brought about by a society that has become more individualized and less communicative. Nowadays, more and more people are living alone.” They hope a conversational robot such as Kirobo would help these people feel less lonely.

Japan, Robots, and the Future

Kirobo is the first of many robots that could improve the health and wellbeing of many people just by being there to talk and interact with. When humans are isolated, psychological and cognitive damage can occur.

Writing in Psychology Today, Hara Estroff Marano noted that “unmet social needs take a serious toll on health, eroding our arteries, creating high blood pressure, and even undermining learning and memory.” This is especially important for those living in Japan, because, as we all know, Japanese people live forever.

Being in space can get pretty lonely at times, and this is where Kirobo comes in. At least the people on the space station have their crew, but not all of them speak the same language as it is an international space station. Plus, this is just kind of a test to see how a robot like Kirobo would function if somewhere down the road we start sending lone astronauts on trips to the Moon, Mars, or beyond. Those people would get pretty lonely, and having a little buddy like Kirobo around would make things a little bit more bearable. Anyone seen the movie Moon?

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Also, the technology developed and refined here might one day improve your car (if it’s a Toyota, that is). Toyota is responsible for the voice recognition tech in Kirobo, so what they learn from this experiment will be applied in future car models with voice activated controls.

Kirobo arrives at the station this month, but won’t actually get set up and start speaking until later in the month or early September. Apparently Koichi isn’t even getting to the space station until November, but he’s going to be the first Japanese Commander of the International Space Station, so that’s pretty cool.

Koichi will start getting into serious tests and experiments with Kirobo come December. Why they sent Kirobo separate from Koichi and spread so far apart, I’m not quite sure.

How Did We Get Here? Where Will We Go?

If you’ve been keeping up with Japanese tech and/or Tofugu, you’ll know that Japan has been at the forefront of humanoid robot technology. Everything from sex dolls to retail store models has already been done (all of which secretly want to kill you). Kirobo is one of many steps towards getting robot companions to those that need them.

I think this is one of the coolest, but also scariest, directions robot tech can head in. How many movies and TV shows have we seen where robot companions go berserk, become self-aware, or cause some sort of harm to their fleshy overlords? I mean, we joked about it before when we were talking about Vocaloids, but actual physical robots like Kirobo pose a much larger potential threat.

Even more than the robots acting on their own, what about hackers and viruses for something to worry about? What if someone found a way to hack into your robot companion and used an Xbox controller to make the robot flush your cat down the toilet and rack up tons of expenses on pay-per-view? The horror! But no, seriously, how terrible would it be to get strangled in your sleep by your robot “friend”? That would be just dreadful.

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On the other hand, how awesome would it be to have a fully capable companion robot? It would be super awesome. Think of how much more productive (or lazy) you could be. The robot could cook and clean for you, freeing up lots of time for you to do whatever.

And while these kinds of robots could help extreme introverts and the elderly, people who don’t get enough social interaction for whatever reason – these robots might also encourage some to not seek social interaction from real people. Why go out into the real work when you have a customizable robot that can do and be whatever you want it to? These are all things to consider as we head down this road.

Let’s Take a Few Steps Back

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But anyway, let’s get back to Kirobo and space. I think it’s a pretty cool idea. Right now it might seem like kind of like a novelty, and not really all that serious. But everything has to start somewhere, and Kirobo is already getting plenty of publicity since the space station he is going to is an international one, and lots of people care about space and stuff.

Will Kirobo be the catalyst that sparks the world into developing more robot companions like him? Perhaps. Will it happen anytime soon? Hopefully.

So tell me, would you want a companion robot like Kirobo or any other sort of robot like you’ve seen in fiction? Why or why wouldn’t you want one? Share your thoughts about the future and let us know in the comments!

Sites Referenced:
Forbes

Could you be the one?

As part of a special Valentine’s Day promotion, Tokyo department store Takashimiya (popular retailer of everything from wedding dresses and other apparel to electronics and flatware) has teamed up with Dr. Ishiguro here to install a new attraction. This new android, Geminoid-F (F for female) was created by Dr. Ishiguro and his team, in collaboration with ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, and Kokoro who are known for their Actroid androids.

Placed in the front window of the store, this lifelike android doubles as both a mannequin for the clothes and as an extra draw to the store. She is an air servo-powered android with eye, mouth, head, and shoulder mobility. While holding her precious phone, acting as if waiting for a friend on Valentine’s Day, the female robot is capable of everything from smiles to yawns. It is also very, very creepy.

Geminoid-F In Action

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Retailers would like to use real fashion models in their store windows, but it isn’t practical. Mannequins, however, don’t really look human. Using an android like this realizes the store windows of the future.

Dr. Ishiguro has been developing his robots for a while now and his creations are very lifelike. If you’ve read our previous post detailing all of the creepy robots to come out of Japan, you’ll remember that Dr. Ishiguro’s are easily some of the most impressively realistic. His partnership with Takashimiya is the first time his androids have ever been used in retail. But where does Dr. Ishiguro see this going?

Are Androids the Future?

“I see this as the future of shop displays,” commented Dr. Ishiguro glancing at another window display made up of boring ol’ traditional mannequins, “they don’t represent real life at all which is what I see as the point of some displays.”

She sure attracts a lot of attention.

But how does this particular android work? Well, she is capable of sixty-five actions and cycles through four different emotional states according to her programming. She is also connected to an Xbox Kinect system complete with facial recognition software which enables her to react and look like she’s really paying attention to potential shoppers passing by her window. “We have tried to make it more lifelike through not programming her to react to every shopper in sudden movements but in a more natural way and arranged her in a pose as if waiting for someone,” Dr. Ishiguro explains.

The lavish display certainly attracts more attention than that of one with a traditional mannequin setup, but her actual impact on sales is yet to be determined. Regardless, Dr. Ishiguro hopes that this display will be paving the way to a new form of commercial advertising. He claims he “would love to take the idea over to New York and have this type of display in luxury shops on the likes of Fifth Avenue.” Will that happen one day? Maybe. Will it happen soon? Probably not.

The Robot Revolution Continues

Now, I’m not sure how expensive these androids are to manufacture, but I’m sure it ain’t cheap. I personally very much doubt that the increase in customer base will do much to offset the great expense of having an android in your storefront window. Perhaps in the long run it will end up paying for itself, but one must consider the maintenance that must be done to keep these machines in working order as well.

There is always a chance that androids will become much cheaper to make in the future and we’ll start seeing android mannequins not just in the storefront windows but scattered across the insides of the stores as well, but I believe that future is currently far, far away.

Die, puny human.

Or maybe Dr. Ishiguro has actually been replaced by his original Geminoid and this new android Ishiguro is starting to plant sleeper agent androids around the country in preparation for the inevitable robot uprising! But more importantly, will Vocaloids and androids be able to work together in their quest for world domination or will they fight each other for the right to rule their fleshy underlings!? Only time will tell.

So what do you think? Are android mannequins the future of retail? If so, how long do you think it’ll be before we start seeing them over here in America? Let us know in the comments!

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via DigInfo, JapanTrends

What is This Thing and Why Should I Care

Hatsune Miku is a female singing synthesizer application developed by Crypton Future Media. Her name is a combination of the Japanese words for first (hatsu), sound (ne), and future (miku). Her voice is sampled from a Japanese voice actress named Saki Fujita.

Vocaloid on its own is a singing synthesizer application that was developed by Yamaha. It allows users to synthesize singing by typing in lyrics and melody, therefore granting the gift of song to those who can’t sing. It utilizes Yamaha’s Vocaloid synthesizing technology combined with the vocals of various voice actors and singers.

One popular Vocaloid compilation (Exit Tunes Presents Vocalogenesis feat. Hatsune Miku) debuted at the number one spot on the Japanese Oricon charts in 2010 and became the first Vocaloid album ever to top them. Hatsune Miku “performed” her first “live” concert during Animelo Summer Live at the Saitama Super Arena in 2009. And by “live” I mean a projected image of the Vocaloid singer performed. Miku also performed in the USA this summer but, I mean – you could just get yourself a projector and have one of her “concerts” anywhere. Ta~da! It’s magic. From the future!

Hatsune Miku and the Vocaloid Army

When Miku was initially developed, Crypton decided to take a different approach than they had before. In the past they had mostly focused on music industry professionals, but this time around they wanted to appeal to the masses. They decided that in order to make the product successful, they needed a highly appealing voice and a highly appealing image to go with it. The lofty task of creating this image fell to a manga artist by the name of Kei Garo.

When Kei designed Miku, his only instruction was that she had to be an android and her color scheme had to be based on Yamaha’s synthesizer’s signature cyan. After Kei had created his monster, Crypton then crafted and posted Miku’s personal data sheet. The data sheet only detailed her “physical” and technical attributes, allowing the masses to associate with her whatever traits they’d like best in a Vocaloid overlord. Her stats are as follows.

• Name: Hatsune Miku
• Birthday: August 31, 2007
• Age: 20
• Height: 158cm
• Weight: 42 kg
• Suggested Genre: Pop/Dance
• Suggested Tempo Range: 70~150 bpm
• Suggested Vocal Range: A3~E5 (roughly mezzo-soprano down to bass range)

Influence On the World As We Know It Today

Nico Nico Douga (Japanese equivalent of YouTube), played an important role in forcing the Vocaloid plague upon us. Soon after Miku’s public release, Nico Nico Douga-ers started posting various Miku videos. A popular video featuring Hachune Miku (chibi version of Hatsune Miku) singing “Ievan Polkka” showcased the unlimited potential of the software and all the creative things people could implement it into.

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Miku is also responsible for bring us the dreaded Nyan Cat meme. Miku along with all the other Vocaloids are masterminding ALL the memes to control the masses so their feeble human brains will be ripe for accepting the inevitable Vocaloid uprising. You’ve been warned.

In November of 2009, a petition was launched in order to get a custom made Hatsune Miku plate made and attached to the Japanese Venus spacecraft explorer Akatsuki. On December 22, 2009, the petition exceeded the needed 10,000 signatures, and Akatsuki was launched with three plates attached depicting various images of both Hatsune and Hachune Miku. Because it just wasn’t enough for the Vocaloids to conquer the world – they had to conquer space too. Way to go handing them everything on a silver platter, humans. Way to go.

After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, a number of Vocaloid related donation drives were implemented and Crypton joined several other companies in donating to the Japanese Red Cross. In addition, a special Nendoroid (a brand of small plastic figures, created by the Japanese Good Smile Company) of Hatsune Miku, Nendoroid Hatsune Miku: Support ver., was announced with a donation of 1,000 yen (~$13) per sale to the Japanese Red Cross. A nice act of charity to be sure, but don’t be fooled by their good deeds. They’re just buttering you up for now, but before you know it you’ll be shining the shoes of your new virtual master.

A Vocaloid Future Awaits..?

Despite the success of Vocaloids in Japan, us Westerners have been reluctant to jump on the overlord bandwagon. However, some musicians like R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe praised it when it was first announced (but there’s a good chance he’s a Vocaloid too, I think). He noted that one great thing about the software was that it would give singers a way to preserve their voice for future generations and as technology progressed, it could even be used to bring back the voices of singers who have already been lost. I can see it now – Vocaloid Frank Sinatra, king of the overlords, serenading you all the way to the salt mines.

Crypton blamed in part a fear of robots (well duh, obviously) for the lackluster response overseas and expressed that there was a general anti-Vocaloid prejudice (the resistance is assembling already! There may be hope for us yet!). However, Crypton has also noted that they hope this will change over time as the software continues to be developed and updated. And by that I’m sure they mean “as the Vocaloid brainwashing system is perfected and implemented.”

There Can Be Only One – Vocaloids vs Humans

Let’s compare the pros and cons of Vocaloids to real life human artists, shall we?

Pros

• Can never die and therefore can make consistent music forever and ever
• Are virtual, so their talents can be used and seen anywhere, anytime
• Technology could be used to “revive” musical artists from the days of old

Cons

• “Live” concerts are kind of lame
• That feeling that it’s not “real” since it’s more or less just a synthesized voice doing the singing
• They’ll soon rise up and conquer the world

So – do you think that the popular music world of the future will be one dominated by Vocaloids? Is this just a passing fad? How will it influence and shape the music world and will it ever become popular outside Japan? Will our new robot overlords be merciful and kind or merciless and cruel?? ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

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