Robotics

Japanese elementary school enrolls robot exchange student

Japanese elementary school enrolls robot exchange student
ATR's communication robot Robovie interacts with students at the Higashihikari elementary school in Kyoto, Japan (Photo: Mainichi news)
ATR's communication robot Robovie interacts with students at the Higashihikari elementary school in Kyoto, Japan (Photo: Mainichi news)
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ATR's communication robot Robovie interacts with students at the Higashihikari elementary school in Kyoto, Japan (Photo: Mainichi news)
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ATR's communication robot Robovie interacts with students at the Higashihikari elementary school in Kyoto, Japan (Photo: Mainichi news)
Robovie's body has been through several revisions, including this soft version designed to invite human touch
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Robovie's body has been through several revisions, including this soft version designed to invite human touch
This version of Robovie met with people in a shopping mall, and was covered with touch-sensitive padding
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This version of Robovie met with people in a shopping mall, and was covered with touch-sensitive padding
Robovie R2, the second generation of ATR's communication robot, featured an exoskeleton which hid its internal mechanisms
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Robovie R2, the second generation of ATR's communication robot, featured an exoskeleton which hid its internal mechanisms
Robovie R3, the most recent generation of ATR's communication robot, features a cuter appearance
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Robovie R3, the most recent generation of ATR's communication robot, features a cuter appearance
Two different models of the Robovie R3, with the one on the right designed by famed robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi (ROBO-GARAGE)
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Two different models of the Robovie R3, with the one on the right designed by famed robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi (ROBO-GARAGE)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries attempted to market the technology as a household robot named Wakamaru
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries attempted to market the technology as a household robot named Wakamaru
Despite Wakamaru's features, customers complained it wasn't very useful and sales plummeted
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Despite Wakamaru's features, customers complained it wasn't very useful and sales plummeted
ATR's Robovie helped people shop for groceries in one research project
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ATR's Robovie helped people shop for groceries in one research project
Senior citizens - experts on their local history - educated tourists through the Robovie in one research project
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Senior citizens - experts on their local history - educated tourists through the Robovie in one research project
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A new research program is underway in Japan which will introduce fifth graders to a 1.2 meter tall communication robot called Robovie over a period of 14 months. Researchers at the International Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR) say Robovie has the conversational skills of a five-year-old, which they hope to improve through daily interactions with the children at Higashihikari elementary school.

Japanese researchers have long held the belief that robots will become part of daily life, but before they can become stand up citizens they'll need an education on human manners and mannerisms. To that end, cute communication robots like Robovie have been in development for years. ATR has already made several revisions to Robovie's appearance and software, and used it in dozens of research projects focusing on human-robot interaction (HRI).

Over the years these robots have helped the elderly shop for groceries and perform as travel guides for tourists via teleoperation. However, its new role as classmate will be its first long-term project, putting to the test how humans co-exist with robots.

Unlike most new kids in class, Robovie has a head start in making friends: it was preloaded with facial photos and voice prints from 119 students and teachers to help it recognize them. Additionally, the researchers have added fifth-grade science textbooks to its database. On its first day, a teacher asked it what a "wound up copper wire" is, to which it answered: "A copper coil. It's part of the motors that move my body." This prompted one student to conclude: "It's smarter than me!"

Senior citizens - experts on their local history - educated tourists through the Robovie in one research project
Senior citizens - experts on their local history - educated tourists through the Robovie in one research project

This is not the first project to pair kids with robots – in 2005 UCSD's Machine Perception Lab introduced toddlers to Sony's pint-sized QRIO humanoid as part of the RUBI Project. In South Korea, a government initiative called R-Learning teaches kids English through a disembodied robot head, and teachers can select from a small handful of edutainment robots to round out lessons. In Japan, NEC's communication robot PaPeRo (which has been in development since 1997) has been introduced to classrooms for a limited time. Kids are also learning about robots through the LEGO Robotics program, which is popular around the world.

The technology inside the Robovie was briefly commercialized by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a bright yellow US$15,000 household robot called Wakamaru. Unfortunately the venture was a disaster, with customers returning it in droves once they discovered it wasn't very useful or became boring after a few months. The same thing happened with the Sony QRIO – its developers found that their families grew tired of it after only a month – which is probably why Sony canned their Entertainment Robotics division in 2006. As the sophistication of HRI research projects increase however, we can expect to see quite a different reaction to robots in society.

Source: Mainichi news via Engadget

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1 comment
1 comment
slayerwulfe
the whole idea about interaction is that i'm just like U. were all robots because were all made from the crust of the earth. this is one of my three primary studies, the only thing that has held robotic's back was a brain, and as the student said perhaps unwittingly, It Has A Brain. Jason nice, hoping for more. slayerwulfe cave