Robo Zoo

2005

Leading Edge Design Corp. (JP)
Shunji Yamanaka (JP)
Kinya Tagawa (JP)
Jun Homma (JP)
Nicholas Oxley
Yuji Mitani
ZMP INC. (JP)

Come and meet the robots at the Ars Electronica Center! Nuvo, the first humanoid robot for use in the home, AIBO the Robot Dog and Cyclops are looking forward to making your acquaintance.

Nuvo, a device developed and manufactured in Japan, is the first robot for everyman. To enable Nuvo to be deployed in all kinds settings, engineers emphasized small size and low weight.

Nuvo is controlled via voice recognition, command per Internet or cell phone, and remote control. It can tell its master what time it is, play music or take pictures, and then send the snapshots to its master’s cell phone. Plans are now in the works to develop Nuvo into “the perfect personal agent.”

AIBO the Robot Dog features a form of artificial intelligence called AIBO Mind Software that controls its independent behavior. AIBO can also recognize its master’s voice and face.

A camera and ranging sensors allow the computerized canine to move about independently and avoid obstacles. Sensors on its head, back and paws enable AIBO to recognize if it’s being petted or scolded, and it reacts accordingly. Colored LEDs in its face provide it with the ability to communicate via a lifelike body language. When AIBO is happy, its green LEDs are illuminated, and the red ones shine when it’s in a bad mood.

Cyclops reacts to the activities of installation visitors. Once its digital eye locks onto you, it follows your movements—as long as you move slowly. The “eye” of this interactive machine consists of a CCD camera, which is hooked up to a computer that selects human-sized objects and then analyzes the observed movements.

Cyclops’s spine consists of several spherical joints, which are controlled by approximately 50 artificial muscles that are moved by air pressure. It’s just as flexible as a human being’s backbone.

A human being’s eye movements can be interpreted as an expression of feelings. A person’s eyes show others what he/she is thinking, and even the subtlest eye movements can communicate complex feelings. This is why the psychological effect that Cyclops’s eye movements have on those that observe them is an interesting aspect to take into account in the design of intelligent machines in the future.

Cyclops was originally developed for the 2001-02 Robot Meme Exhibition at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo. This device is the result of studies of a robot with a flexible spine conducted in 1999 at the University of Tokyo’s Jouhou System Kougaku Laboratory.

We would especially like to thank Shadow Robot Company (air muscles) and the NICHINAN Corp. (manufacturing).