Japan conversation robot ready for outer space
AZUSA UCHIKURA, AP
TOKYO (AP) — The world's first space conversation experiment between a robot and humans is ready to be launched.
Developers
from the Kirobo project, named after "kibo" or hope in Japanese and
"robot," gathered in Tokyo Wednesday to demonstrate the humanoid robot's
ability to talk.
"Russia
was the first to go outer space, the U.S. was the first to go to the
moon, we want Japan to be the first to send a robot-astronaut to space
that can communicate with humans,"
said Yorichika Nishijima, the Kirobo project manager.
The
experiment is a collaboration between advertising and PR company Dentsu
Inc., the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the
University of Tokyo, Robo Garage and Toyota
Motor Corp.
Tomotaka
Takahashi, CEO of Robo Garage Co. and associate professor at the
University of Tokyo, said he hopes robots like Kirobo that hold
conversations will eventually be used to assist
astronauts working in space.
"When
people think of robots in outer space, they tend to seek ones that do
things physically," said Takahashi. "But I think there is something that
could come from focusing on humanoid
robots that focus on communication."
Because
Kirobo does not need to perform physical activities, it is smaller than
most robots that go into space. Kirobo is about 34 centimeters tall (13
inches) and weighs about 1 kilogram
(2.2 pounds).
Its
land-based counterpart Mirata looks almost identical but is not
designed to go into outer space. Instead, it has the ability to learn
through the conversations it has.
During the demonstration, Fuminori Kataoka, project general manager from Toyota, asked Kirobo what its dream was.
"I want to create a future where humans and robots can live together and get along," it answered.
Kirobo is scheduled to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on August 4, 2013
(chat bot in space!!!)
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