Robot Revolution, will machines surpass humans (2013-05-04) Full HD 1080P

[Music] the future is just around the corner in a workshop near Mount Fuji a curious beam has appeared its 3.8 metres tall and weighs 4 tons it is a giant humanoid robot named kuratas kuratas is a contemporary artist creation he holed up here for two years building the robot with input from an expert [Applause] he calls coitus a work of art but it's a sophisticated piece of machinery a person seated inside can control the robot move its limbs and grab things the artist says he was inspired by robots in science fiction tales and animation that vision sustained him as he worked in solitude things that were once unthinkable are becoming real how will robots evolve well military applications could be one option which they'll probably become more and more like humans they could surpass us in strength and ability people long dreamed of creating these extreme machines now humanoid robots are here they think like we do move like we do and even sacrifice themselves for us we want our robot to change society because robots must be useful electronics and computing progress in vision systems you know there's many pieces of it we will see much more capability continued to grow since the Industrial Revolution people have entrusted some jobs to machines but there may come a day when humanoid robots do much more complex jobs then what will people do and you'll see more and more robots doing things in in society whether it's manufacturing or service applications or home health care applications the key will be to skillfully dividing labor between humans and humanoid robots the disaster that hit Japan in March 2011 accelerated efforts to develop robots with human traits the Fukushima nuclear accident left people powerless robots can take over when things become dangerous they can plow through rubble climb ladders even make repairs people are turning to humanoid robots to handle all of these tasks we're eager to launch it soon to end the crisis by joining forces we can make a truly useful contribution I mean a humanoid could do it where the day will come when robots will really assist mankind the nuclear disaster in Japan sparked explosive advances in humanoids at the front line of robotics development this program explores the future that's fast approaching [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] aha show so much parasite [Music] ASIMO was created by Honda's research and development subsidiary we were allowed to film their top-secret robotics laboratory Japan is a worldwide leader in the development of humanoid robots ASIMO is the country's crowning achievement engineers continue to make improvements ASIMO's most innovative feature is its advanced intelligence the robot can think and act on its own without human intervention that's made possible by sensors that replicate our five senses además head contains eight microphones it uses them to listen and engage in conversation two cameras work as eyes they can detect humans and use stored data to identify them the facial recognition problem I don't think so the please cover your face ASIMO's artificial intelligence analyzes a vast array of information that's how it understands people's requests and takes appropriate actions ASIMO also has a sophisticated sense of touch its fingers can make subtle movements like a person's sensors are embedded in the fingertips - they can gauge the hardness of an object like human fingers do most robots use a fixed amount of strength to grab things but a single exerts more power to open a tightly sealed water bottle and less when holding a paper cup it's artificial intelligence uses information from the fingertip sensors to adjust the grip the developers ultimate goal is for awesomo to be a valuable partner that coexists with humans the engineers who created awesomo all grew up watching animated shows about robots such as Astro Boy da diamond and Gundam they dreamed of someday making their own Satoshi XI Guay me is the development team's leader he has been designing robots for the past 16 years from the beginning we wanted to design a robot that could help people to realize that dream we're constantly asking ourselves what kind of robot would be able to change society make people happy and make life easier for people around the world our idea is to create a robot that will change how people live we're working through the technological issues one by one in order to reach that goal ASIMO's advanced physical capabilities are revolutionary the robot can walk and run it can reach speeds of up to nine kilometers an hour for robots walking is much easier than running when running both feet momentarily leads the ground balancing in midair is no easy task [Laughter] maintaining posture while jumping or floating in the air was a major technological breakthrough ASIMO leans its upper body slightly forward to maintain overall balance it goes forward straight forward straight in the air sensors an awesome OHS waist measure the robots angle it leans slightly to compensate forward or back side to side that's how it stays perfectly balanced in the air [Music] ASIMO has been evolving ever since development began in 1986 much like a growing child but something happened that made researchers realize ah schemas real-world limitations it was the accident at Tokyo Electric Power company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant the damaged reactors release radioactive substances making it difficult for humans to deal with the crisis people needed something that could confront the dangers and bring the plant under control robots Japanese officials sent a request for robots developed by the US military the robots were sent to Fukushima in April 2011 they recorded images inside the damaged reactors [Music] since then a variety of Japanese robots have been enlisted as well robots had proven to be useful but two years after the accident they're only used for inspections they're not able to do all the work of humans what about awesomo right after the disaster people fled at Honda with phone calls and emails asking the company to send ASIMO to the Fukushima plant but ASIMO wasn't up to the task it could move nimbly over an office floor and other flat surfaces but large vertical gaps and obstacles were a different story we heard from many customers we ourselves regretted that awesomo couldn't be of help it was obvious that awesomo we had built wasn't ready for real-life action we realized right away that we needed to make something different something new that could offer immediate assistance Honda wasted no time company officials offered to create a robot free of charge to assist TEPCO in the recovery TEPCO accepted officials asked for a robot that could open or closed valves inside the nuclear plant we wanted to flush out radioactive materials that remained inside the pipes and bring down radiation levels in the facility that was our first goal unless we opened or closed the valves the area would remain highly radioactive and that would prevent workers from entering the facility and impact the entire decommissioning schedule how many valves are there each unit has from several thousand to tens of thousands of them in July 2011 four months after the accident honda began designing a robot for use at the nuclear plant members of the Osmo team were put in charge of the project a humanoid robot would take too long to build so engineers focused on making a robot specifically for operating valves [Music] Aseema was crucial to their efforts its ankles employ advanced balancing technology developers reasoned that using it would allow the new robot to work inside bubble filled reactor buildings the team worked exceptionally fast completing a prototype in just four months they turned ASIMO's leg into an arm for operating the valves even when the base moves the arm remains steady so far so good officials from TEPCO evaluated the prototype at the National Institute of Advanced industrial Science and Technology the government-backed group for cutting-edge research contributed to the development effort [Music] a TEPCO official couldn't take his eyes off the robots movements we may be quite demanding that's okay we might be quite direct the test is designed to replicate conditions inside the nuclear plant the robotic arm is remote-controlled [Music] testers send the arm toward one of the valves there are a number of unknowns including the condition of the valves they may have rusted since the accident a valve might break if the robot applies too much force or it might not budge at all this'll kill me [Music] the robot uses just the right amount of force and turns the valve on the first try it's passed the test this robot can do more than inspections it could help in the recovery effort and all from what we've seen the robot seems near perfect we want to use it as soon as the need arises it's important that we quickly do what we can to make that possible the Fukushima accident also encouraged us developers to design emergency response robots Department of Defense officials have spearheaded the effort before they had shown little interest in humanoid robots now they view them as vital for disaster response the architect of the new strategy is Gill Pratt of DARPA he oversees funding for leading edge research at the Department of Defense there are many aspects of disaster response in Fukushima that inspire people in robotics to work on new capabilities if they were able to take action during those first 24 hours then the first reactor maybe would not have blown up in an environment that is too dangerous for a person to do and what's important to us is that the robot is compatible with human environments compatible with human tools and also is compatible with human operators without special training as a result of that the easiest form that comes to mind is the human form DARPA is backing the development of a humanoid robot for catastrophes such as nuclear power plant accidents this company is leading the development work it has already built several military robots this is the first american-made humanoid robot for disaster response it's called Atlas before us designers had focused on robots with specialized functions why the sudden interest in humanoid robots traveling over debris prying open valves using tools for repairs performing multiple tasks like these is impossible for specialized robots crises also require robots that can navigate doors and stairs humanoid robots are ideally suited for such situations [Music] tests of this prototype we're going smoothly it can easily climb stairs and jump from a height of nearly a meter it can negotiate obstacles using its arms and legs it can already handle more demanding environments than ASIMO can [Music] Atlas is loaded with technologies originally designed for military robots a Quadra petrol bot called cheetah can race through a battlefield at 50 kilometres an hour ls3 is for transport it can carry heavy supplies for soldiers the ferocious-looking robot gets its strength from a powerful hydraulic drive system a hydraulic device can be small yet quite strong the black cables convey hydraulic power to the legs that generates the brute force required for harsh conditions on the battlefield a web of hydraulic cables covers Atlas's body they form a muscular suit of armor for clearing debris another important technology comes from military robot engineering this machine's joints have a wide range of motion they allow for flexibility that humans can't achieve Atlas's joints are capable of moving in 28 different ways Atlas can crawl through narrow spaces and withstand sudden shocks but then we have the need this has three in the hip just like us this way this way and then this way I am very impressed with the number of degrees of freedom it will be able to do these human compatible tasks without a lot of the limitations that other robots have Engineers will combine Atlas's rugged body with sophisticated artificial intelligence that's almost near completion they aim to complete the robot by December of next year one reason you see humanoid robots is because there's some people working who are really interested in robots as an entertainment thing or as a performance thing I think that's different we're much more interested in basic capabilities for emergency response rescue so I don't think a somo has been designed to do those things you have us Engineers stepped up their efforts to develop humanoid robots after the nuclear accident in Japan Japanese researchers are embracing the same mission [Music] in November 2012 robot engineers from around the world gathered in Osaka for an international conference on humanoids Gill Pratt from DARPA was one of the participants he came to invite engineers to join a project sponsored by the US Defense Department okay Marcello's after 24 hours if only a robot had been there to go and open that valve the entire disaster could have been averted but we didn't have one and furthermore we didn't have anyone that could do the job so shortly afterwards we actually started planning the DARPA Robotics Challenge the Robotics Challenge is a competition to develop emergency response robots for major disasters like Japan's the challenge consists of eight tasks driving a vehicle to approach a disaster site walking over rubble removing obstacles opening doors using tools to break down walls climbing ladders turning valves and making repairs a single robot must complete all eight tasks the development period is two years DARPA will provide contestants with funding of up to four million dollars DARPA has received over 100 proposals from research groups worldwide they include renowned organizations like NASA and MIT Japan is at the forefront of humanoid robotics engineering yet its researchers hesitated to throw their hats into the ring so actually yet to me it's difficult to not to see that some of the results of DRC cannot be so to advanced as you say advanced military technology the DRC is about developing robots that I believe wholeheartedly are completely impractical for military purposes for offensive military purposes will the technology that we come up with find its way into military systems probably yes but I guarantee you that if you work on a robot for healthcare there's a chance that that technology will also find its way to military systems the members of one Japanese research institution wanted to take part in the competition they worked at the University of Tokyo's robotics lab researchers there along with those at Honda our global leaders in robotics engineering but they faced a major obstacle to competing the university bans military funded research three researchers made a decision they told the university they were leaving then they decided to set up a venture company and enter the DARPA Robotics Challenge they couldn't shake the feeling that they should leave their quiet university lab and help resolve the nuclear crisis six months after launching their venture the team had just completed a prototype with help from University graduates it's long arms can exert ten times more force than those of conventional humanoid robots [Music] it's too tight to turn with one hand [Music] it can easily turn a bell that's too tight for a person to turn [Music] the strong force comes from a large electric current that pushes the motors to their maximum limits a reddish fluid circulates through the robot's body the fluid serves as a coolant that keeps the motors from overheating the cooling system should enable the robot to perform hours of grueling work at disaster sites the time has now come for the developers to apply their years of research to the real world a nuclear crisis has happened here in Japan radiation is escaping researchers in every field must wonder at least once if the technology they've been working on could help resolve the crisis by joining forces we can make a truly useful contribution it's with this in mind that we decided to enter the competition one country is quickly catching up with Japan in humanoid robotics South Korea [Music] Khai stay is a government-funded lab for the Advancement of science and technology researchers there were among the first to expressed interest in DARPA Robotics Challenge this humanoid robot is called Cuba it's modeled on a sumo which honda spent 14 years developing cuba was built in just five years Hugo deftly manipulates its hands and it's also good at dancing its moves look just like ASIMO's cubo has been undergoing a major upgrade ahead of the competition it can now bend backward at the waist while walking to handle all kinds of environments it can quickly pick up tools the tests were going well people have always compared Hugh bow to ASIMO engineers now had a strategy to get ahead of the Japanese developers they decided to publish certain details about Cuba's design and pursue joint development with researchers at other institutions one could say that this space inside chivos chest captures the heart of their thinking human it's empty now but this is where artificial intelligence will be installed its removal cubo does not yet possess artificial intelligence its motions are as sophisticated as ASIMO's but Cuba's movements are all pre-programmed US universities that lead research into artificial intelligence will develop a brain for Hugh beau the stage has been set for a joint us-south Korean team to compete in the DARPA Robotics Challenge until would then Sharon was the key to making technological advancements that's to South Korea ran in other places to research shouldn't be confined to one place people developing humanoid robots elsewhere a too close-minded researchers at Honda were also invited to enter darvis competition but they declined their energies were focused on designing a robot to tackle Japan's nuclear crisis nearly a year has passed since Honda's robotic arm passed evaluation tests but the device has yet to be deployed to the nuclear disaster site that's because officials at TEPCO requested a change in specifications engineers have replaced the valve turning hand at the end of the arm with a camera TEPCO had changed its plan officials decided to put priority on assessing conditions inside the plant's facilities they said it was too early to have robots work on valves there wasn't even a recovery plan in place when we were working out the valve manipulation tasks confusion also prevailed at the site we were expecting valve work to begin two to three years after the disaster but the timing has ended up being later than what we'd assume one month into the crisis the robotic arm will soon be sent to the accident site it will provide the first images filmed from high up the robotic arm was not the end of Hondas efforts its engineers had another secret mission they would develop a new humanoid robot it would be an updated version of ASIMO for use in disasters the site where the Fukushima disaster took place is dark and off-limits to humans only a humanoid robot with both intelligence and motor skills could climb over the debris get to the accident site and perform the work of people in other words a robot like awesomo let's use our skills to make a humanoid robot that can tackle disasters ahh CMOS engineers were united by this idea the robot they envisioned would not only walk but also use its arms to crawl it would use every means possible to reach its destination a dramatic update would be necessary a disaster reduction robot would be useless if it couldn't get to the site it's important to get to the scene no matter what disasters create all kinds of debris that crumbles easily you know breaks when stepped on it's because it's dangerous that robots replace humans that's what makes them valuable a robot that couldn't get to the scene would be totally useless Honda's engineers began developing robots in 1986 with the goal of making people happy 27 years of research is now being put to the test as we saw in the Fukushima Daiichi crisis the bottom line is that robots can stand in for humans in places that we can't go to or that are too dangerous I am committed to delivering what's needed when needed in the shortest amount of time the accident in Fukushima spurred the development of humanoid robots around the world the disaster also prompted people to question the rules of humans one of the largest trade fairs featuring industrial robots took place in January global manufacturers displayed their latest models companies are developing more and more to armed humanoids for industrial use one new product at the event caught a lot of people's attention Baxter was created by the inventor of a best-selling cleaning robot it's equipped with sophisticated artificial intelligence Baxter is designed to work side by side with people in factories and other settings the robots most unusual feature is its ability to master a task in a matter of five minutes all that's required is step-by-step manual instruction no complicated programming is needed let's pick up this part so you bring the arm anyway so you just pick a pig in a place at this point we already able to do the task you can do this you already built some common channel you really need to graph you'll be eventually possibilities for that we can do it ourselves sure the expression of the face on the LCD screen shows whether or not the robot has understood the task Baxter costs twenty two thousand dollars a bargain for a humanoid robot the maker says buyers can recoup their investment in several months and slash labor costs I'm very impressed with it I work for a small manufacturing company and we have some older employees who are looking to retire and there's some tasks that Baxter could do for us also it would be cheaper than employing a person hired knocking it I need to stop keep running away everybody else is taking our lunch the boston-based manufacturer has a flood of back orders officials say some day Baxter will work at places like coffee shops taking orders and grilling burgers eventually they expect to have a half a million US customers today we're focused on manufacturing and there's a very big opportunity manufacturing but there's lots of other places that were about light Baxter could go we had the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the last century we've just gone through the computer revolution effectively the turn of the most recent end of the century we are now into the robot revolution we'll people and robots someday compete for jobs at eight-thirty one morning a group of new employees takes part in daily morning exercises they are 13 humanoid workers called next stage this company began using the robots in earnest last year they have two eyes and are just like humans they're cute this factory manufactures money sorting machines for cash registers the humanoids work on a production line that was previously manned entirely by humans the robot visually confirms the parts set in place by a human worker then it begins its task

Channel: LY121688

Views: 614,267

Rating: 4.8338017 out of 5

Keywords: Honda, Asimo, Hubo, Nextage, Baxter, Humanoid, Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Big Dog, Tepco, Voice Recognition, Facial Recognition, Fukushima

Id: DKiXM7bUypk

Length: 40min 17sec (2417 seconds)

Published: Sun May 05 2013

Reddit Comments

[u/mind_bomber]

Here is the last eight minutes: NKH Documentary "Robot Revolution"

[u/bentronic]

The more you work in robotics, the less concerned you are with robots taking over the world. A good example is the robot towel folding from a couple years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy5g33S0Gzo Note that the video is sped up fifty times normal speed.

That was state-of-the-art at the time. The state-of-the-art methods today are a decent amount faster than that, but both machine vision and object manipulation have a long, long way to go to get even close to human performance. The fastest methods are not robust, and the robust methods are very slow.