Hasta La Gadget!

Japan’s double-dip demographics debacle, a rapidly aging society combined with decades of low birth rates, has yet another layer of complication: Japanese women are woefully underrepresented in STEM fields, but addressing the latter could worsen the former. And the other way around, too.

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Female Scientists in Japan: Lacking Number, Lacking Identity
Japan’s METI, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, estimates that, while they comprise 43% of college students nationwide, women account for only 14% of those enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (i.e., STEM; in this case, excluding social sciences). The percentage is slowly creeping up, but in the meantime, a large swath of the Japanese citizenry goes unrepresented in the scientific brain trust. Suffice it to say, women like Kanako Miura, tragically no longer with us, are among Japan’s rarest and most valuable social commodities.

Now, with next to no statistically significant exceptions, Japanese society is universally modern, 100% literate, and boasts an extremely affluent, dominant middle class. By no means is it a gender equality utopia, but on paper at least, most career options are reasonably open to all citizens regardless of sex. However, as is almost always the case, cultural traditions and long-accepted norms and mores rarely find perfect alignment with our highest ideals.

A few weeks back, the New York Times published an account of the stereotyping and understated yet powerful social stigma faced by Japanese women studying or working in STEM fields. Generally speaking, in Japanese pair bonding, science girls are considered less attractive and/or less amenable to traditional gender roles. Women pursuing STEM careers in Japan often feel out of place and struggle to maintain or even define a feminine identity. Plainly stated, sciencey Japanese women have a bit of a PR problem in the romance department – and yes, the problem lies equally with the men.

Changing Hearts & Minds… With a Catch
Anywhere in the world, the psyche of your average 14-20 year-old human is an awkward explosion of befuddled sexuality longing for validation. Naturally, these proto-citizens are desperate to minimize any factor that could jeopardize their chances for romance, and as the social hardships of the J-science girl are an easy to appreciate, easy to avoid barrier, exactly that happens – appreciation and avoidance. J-parents, being hip to this as well, have a tendency to push the proverbial Barbie into the hands of young J-girls who, if left to their own interests, might in greater numbers have self-selected a petri dish or microscope or particle accelerator – whatever represents the sciencey contrary to Barbie.

Aware of the problem, pro-science organizations in Japan are working to counter negative associations through a number of promotional programs, magazines, clubs, and even celebrity tours preaching the good news that: “Hey, dorky science girls are hott, too!” Not those exact words, but – you know. So good on them, and well done. Because in any civilized society, that it’s silly and immoral to argue against encouraging women toward STEM fields should be more than obvious.

Buuuuuut, the thing is, professional women with careers and such are less likely to have children, or if they do, less likely to have more than one or two. What the NYT piece doesn’t mention is that, if such pro-girl science recruitment programs are widely successful here in Japan, it adds interest to an already profoundly expensive social problem – a problem that might be vastly more dire than not enough ladies in lab coats.

Slowly, But Very Surely, the Japanese are Disappearing
First, without question many developed societies face a similar discrepancy between men and women in science, but few if any are simultaneously facing the sort of macro-scale social problem that’s bearing down upon all of Japan, and it’s a point that the Times, in their otherwise enjoyable coverage, sorta just drove right past.

The thing is, Japan’s aging society & declining population situation, the 人口問題 (jeen-kō moan-die; literally, “Population Issue/Problem”),* is a lot more than a debacle; this slow-moving monster is going to mature into a virtually unstoppable, nation-scale existential crisis. Nutshelled, it breaks down like this:

A. Statistically, about 1.2 children are born to each Japanese woman. A rate of 2 is necessary for population stasis.

B. A post-war and post-post-war baby boom means contemporary Japan is full of elderly people who will soon pass.

C. The Japanese are not at all interested in large-scale immigration. Powerfully, very not at all interested.

Given current demographics, this virtually guarantees that Japan’s population will drop from approximately 127 million now to about 93 million by 2063. To be clear, this isn’t a warning of what could happen – barring a fantastically unlikely, epic-scale baby boom, it’s a forgone conclusion. Should the trend continue, by 2113 Japan’s population will drop to around 40 million.

Put another way, over his or her lifetime, a Japanese child born today could witness a 70% decrease in their nation’s population. Unaddressed, this would also result in the utter decimation of a massive, globally intertwined economy that’s hugely dependent on goods and services bought and sold domestically; it’s not at all complicated: if a business loses 70% of its customers, then game over.

The above projections exclude the near-term development of some kind of morally acceptable human cloning or guaranteed-triplets-every-time or technological immortality… which might sound kinda of far out, but such things are not entirely infeasible (Google: The Singularity; Transhumanism). It’s foolish to dismiss out of hand the potential impact of technologies we can’t yet imagine, but they’re far from something to bet on.

Human Development Equals Population Stability or Decline, but…
While Japan’s is a singular case, the nation is not alone in facing population decline. That feature comes standard with long-term, broadly distributed economic success and liberal, rule-of-law-based social structures. e.g., the majority of countries near the top of the United Nation’s Human Development Index have relatively stable or declining populations. In contrast, Afghanistan’s fertility rate, along with that of all the least developed African nations, is outrageously high at 5+ births per woman.

Like anywhere, Japan’s young, healthy women of childbearing age bearing as many children as possible is pretty much the only tool in the shed. But ideal childbearing age happens exactly when a woman would be preparing for and beginning a STEM career. Oh, and STEM work aside, these days Japanese women are really starting to enjoy more social autonomy and are becoming ever more present in the broader, non-scientific workforce.

So, realistically, the cat’s outta the bag, the ship’s sailed, it’s しょうがない (show gaw nye; “it can’t be helped”).* The Japanese are not going to forestall this trend through a sudden surge of reproduction. Japan’s population is going to plummet, and biologically neither women nor men can do a thing about it.

The Time to Beg for Babies is Over – Do Science!
Should Japan aggressively incentivize baby making, or aggressively incentivize STEM studies? Practically speaking, given that the time to begin a career in science and the prime time for reproduction are essentially the same, simultaneously encouraging both is basically tail-chasing, zero-sum gaming of the status quo.

“No complex social system can be rapidly changed without significant damage to or destruction of the system itself,” …goes the classic sociological aphorism – and we know that the inverse, i.e., complex systems too rigid even for gradual change, also invariably fail. It doesn’t mean that the complex system that is contemporary Japanese society, the status quo, is too big to change or destined to collapse, it just means that both rapid change and stagnation are equally destructive.

All things considered, it’s much more feasible to focus more on getting Japanese women into STEM fields and, with a simultaneous campaign, work toward gradually bringing men around. Rather than blithely hoping against hope for a population boom, Japan should instead count on the female population’s potential contributions toward things like Japan’s advanced social robotics programs, JAXA’s growing contribution to the ISS and other space endeavors, and, of the most immediate practicality, the bionics and cybernetics initiatives aimed at assisting Japan’s aging population.

Growing and expanding Japan’s technological infrastructure and bringing those advancements to the world market – something accomplished before – is eminently doable once again. Stemming their population decline is not. So really, what other choice is there?

And so, Japanese women, go for the science! Also a good idea to have a nice long talk with Japanese men about their preconceptions. Because come on guys, science can be sexy… if you just let it.

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Addendum: The World Should Watch
In a utilitarian sense, one might argue that Japan’s problem is Japan’s problem, and it’s a bum deal, but they’ve just gotta adapt and do the best they can. That makes a certain sense, but we’d be well-served to bear in mind that, though often predisposed toward lumbering and at times myopic internal self-management, as an economic and political entity Japan is about as internationalized and internationally committed as a nation-state can be.

To wit, though only 1.8% of the human population, Japan has the world’s 3rd largest economy, is globally 5th for both import expenditures and export revenue, is the largest trading partner of the world’s 2nd largest economy, and unbeknownst to many, is the #2 source of funding for the United Nations. If Japan slides, a lot of the world will slide with it. So, keep an eye on things over here, and if anyone’s got any good ideas, just, you know, let Japan know.

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Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

VIA: NYT Global; CIA World Factbook

Image: Wikimedia

*Yep, these are non-standard romanizations of Japanese. Go ahead and type it out using one of the standardized systems and see how many non-students of the language pronounce it correctly. Go ahead. Try. Do it!

A dedicated organization with a few dedicated staff is bringing robotics and engineering education to a part of Japan that’s about as rural as the hyper-densely populated country gets. The NPO Hito Project’s robotics courses are prepping kids for the robotics revolution!

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Rural Japan & Robotics
Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, is the geologically active, ruggedly mountainous home to about 10% of Japan’s total population. With about 1.6 million residents, mid-western Kumamoto City is the island’s second-largest metropolitan area, but by Japanese standards it is considered quite small, even quaint; clean water, friendly people, but mostly countryside. If you’re familiar with the United States, think Oregon or Washington, i.e., one or two big cities in the northwest, then lots and lots of small towns elsewhere.

Per capita, Japan as a whole is the most active and prodigious hub of robotics research, development, production, and usage on the planet – by far. The bulk of that, however, is centered in and around the seething metropolises of Tokyo and Osaka, so although even somewhat rural Kumamoto City does have a considerable tech-industry presence (Honda, OMRON, Tokyo Electron, etc.), it’s not exactly a hotbed of robotics activity.

But roboticists, engineers, and their creations don’t have to come from the big cities up north, and an enthusiastic non-profit organization is laying the groundwork to prove as much.

NPO Hito Project’s Robot Summer School
Some here argue that an unforeseen byproduct of Japan’s long-running economic success, fueled in no small part by robotic manufacturing and industrial automation, has been the atrophy of practical, everyday physical problem solving skills. In a strange irony, the machines that helped propel Japan to an economic powerhouse have obviated the need for mechanical know-how among the nation’s youth. The NPO Hito Project wants to plug this gap and make sure that Japanese kids are not just playing with robot toys, but building them – and taking the practical know-how and basic principles into higher levels of education and eventually the workforce.

Robot Summer School (“robotto suh-muhh skuu-ru,” for those who appreciate Japanese pronunciation!) is currently held in three municipalities in the Kumamoto metro area. According to the Hito Project’s program coordinator Mr. Maehara, on Saturday, June 1st, 24 students aged 9-12 began a 4-hour robotics, engineering, and programming session in coastal Uto City. Another 4-hour class was held the following Saturday. Next were the Kumamoto City classes, this time with 39 students aged 9-15. Again, 8 hours spread across two consecutive Saturdays. Last weekend saw the first class for 16 students aged 9-15 in quite rural Kōshi City. With the completion of Kōshi City’s second class, the Robot Summer School will wrap up this Saturday.

In conducting the standard theory-to-programming-to-hardware courses, the Hito Project provides various iterations of the tried, tested, and well-liked and reviewed Lego MINDSTORMS robotics kits to each team of 2-3 students. And really, any kid who ends up at Robot Summer School is going to be hip to Legos. The only real problem with Legos is when you’re building something awesome and you run out of Legos.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of Robot Summer School, its widest reach, and the highest enrollment yet. Most grade schools and junior high schools, even here in robo-friendly Japan, don’t going to have the time, resources, expertise – and frankly, the vision – to teach these subjects. But in just one month, the Hito Project will have provided nearly 80 young minds 8 intensive hours of hands-on robotics, engineering, and programming training (jump over here for some great photos of the kids at work).

Oh, and one more thing: it’s free.

Governmental organizations chip in, sponsors donate classroom space and funds for robotics kits, high school students participate and help out, and college students contribute their time as instructors and mentors. The model is really quite simple, and highly exportable. Take motivated and qualified teachers, a small investment in equipment, a little bit of marketing, and POW! The fundamentals of robotics, engineering, and programming – delivered to the brains of the youth.

Or the brains of 30- and 40-somethings. Because come on, who doesn’t want to learn how to build Lego robots?!

Skills for the Revolution
What will these kids do with the knowledge they’ve gained at the Hito Project’s Robot Summer School here in rural southern Japan? Who knows – perhaps they’ll design robotic farming equipment (southern Japan needs it – 50% of farmers are over 60 years old).

Realistically, most of the Robot Summer School students won’t end up in robotics-specific careers, but they will have gained not only a basic knowledge of robotics systems at the physical and software levels, but also invaluable problem-solving logic and mechanical aptitude. Who among us, at any age, couldn’t use more of that?

The global resurgence of all things robotic has been likened to the rise of the personal computer or even the DotCom Revolution, but this time, we’re really paying attention – we see it coming, and we’re getting ready.

The Hito Project is all-in, and they’re taking action. How’s your community doing?

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Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

Info & Images: Hito Project (Japanese/日本語); Lego MINDSTORMS

The Leading Exchange in a Business Getting Attention

CEO Mark Karpeles, along with Marketing Officer, Gonzague Gay-Bouchery, is running a company in the Shibuya area of Tokyo that has gained quite a lot of attention recently. That company, Mt.Gox, handles more than 60% of all Bitcoin trading volume worldwide and has assumed leadership in the space of this decentralized, alternative currency.

This, the leading exchange in a business opportunity that now features investment funds and that is attracting venture capital investment in both related companies and in Bitcoins themselves, with investors reportedly including Andreessen Horowitz and the Winklevoss twins.

Perhaps because of its size and leadership in the space, Mt.Gox has become the face of Bitcoins – and it has received the most scrutiny. Most governments, notably the US government, have taken a skeptical approach with Bitcoins and it seems as though Mt.Gox is one of the main targets so far. The US government has already taken action, recently freezing a US-based account operated by Mutum Sigillum LLC, a subsidiary of Mt.Gox, ostensibly due to compliance issues.

But Mark and Gonzague said they would not – and could not – comment on any issues related to the US government. And they said they are not bothered by what’s going on there.

This, the world’s leading Bitcoin marketplace, is a place of passion for what the currency means for the future of international business. Despite some recent inconveniences, they are confident about the future of Bitcoins and their future role in the global economy and I had the opportunity to hear it first-hand from these 2 leaders in the space.

Mt.Gox’s View on Bitcoins

First of all, they said, Bitcoins will not replace currency as it exists now. BUT, it could inspire the future of currencies. Today, some feel that currencies are stuck in a terrestrial, local mindset. US dollars, Euros, Japanese Yen – these are currencies used around the world but their supply, policies, etc. are dictated and controlled by the central banks or regulating bodies in their home domestic markets.

“Holders of these currencies are at the mercy of the system,” Gonzague explained, “your relative wealth in the world is tied to the economic well-being of your home currency. A bank can restrict or even control what you are doing. PayPal can restrict what you are doing. Maybe the credit card company will limit the amount that you can use on your card. Or, like a lot of us in the digital age, you don’t have a local telephone line or address, which can negatively impact your status with financial institutions.

“Bitcoins allow you to have wealth outside of the traditional parameters, have flexibility and ultimately have control over your finances. Wealth becomes truly global, it becomes transparent, and it becomes unencumbered by the restrictions – and exorbitant fees – imposed by the current financial industry.”

A “Decentralized Crypto-Currency”

Bitcoins, have been called a “decentralized crypto-currency” and both parts of that label are critical to why, its promoters feel, it is the model of the future of money.

Decentralized – There is no dispute that international travelers and business people have a real need for ease of access, and liquidity of funds as they operate across borders. But the current framework, according to Mark and Gonzague, is not truly global and is not efficient. Currently, during traveling, or when transferring money to clients overseas, people and businesses are levied with fees and taxes and have to wait up to several days to wire money or to receive wired money. Money transfers are subjected to a higher degree of regulation and scrutiny then are transactions made domestically.

Bitcoins, for the first time, offer an international currency, for international travelers and business people – a decentralized currency that is equally valuable and easy to use among anyone, anywhere, across borders or not.

“We are not Americans, French or Japanese,” explained Gonzague, “we are Earthlings. This is the first means for people to carry ‘value’ around the world, and it is the first chance for one ‘currency’ to be used anywhere – for example, 2 people, 1 in Paris, 1 in New Zealand – they can work together as if they are next door, making payments to each other, without fees, instantaneously, and with a common currency that both can use just as easily.”

Crypto-currency – Bitcoins have several technical advantages over other forms of currency. They are completely digital but they rely on cryptography (encrypting and decrypting as required steps for validity) and are virtually impossible to steal or counterfeit. One of the security fears of Bitcoins has been so-called “double-spend” where you pay someone in Bitcoins, retrieve it back and spend it again.

“Impossible.” Mark explains, quite convincingly. “The level of robustness of the cryptography used with Bitcoins is so great that it is almost impossible to have the amount of CPU to even try it. My estimates are that it would take 64 times more power than all of the CPU required to “mine” all 21 million Bitcoins.”

Another aspect of the cryptography that makes Bitcoins ultimately more secure and safe to use is something called a ‘block chain’ – a sort of transaction ledger. All transactions between holders of a Bitcoin are logged, proving the transfer of Bitcoins in payments between 2 parties and making it virtually impossible to steal. Within the block chain, the recipient of a Bitcoin, by virtue of how they are set up, would be logged, so the payer of a Bitcoin gets absolute proof of the payment recipient and the exact time when a transaction is made.

Add to these points a 3rd feature: Finite Supply and Inherent Value (like gold). Bitcoins take effort to be created (or “mined”) requiring massive computing power, and the volume at which they can be mined is strictly controlled through an algorithm, and ultimately, the absolute volume of Bitcoins is limited to 21 million. Also, Bitcoins are considered by many to be a better inherent asset than gold – unlike gold, there are no storage requirements, no insurance, no physical burdens, etc.

The combination of the 3 – Decentralized, Cryptography, Inherent Value – make Bitcoins arguably more reliable, more convenient, more transparent, and potentially more valuable for an increasingly globalized world.

Mark summed it up: “Who says that in a global economy, with communication happening instantaneously, with information available instantaneously, with people making decisions with implications straddling borders and jurisdictions, that my payment options should be limited to a currency tied to one arbitrary political territory of the world, whose monetary policy is in the interests of that territory, and whose currency can be printed or withheld at will without an intrinsic value behind it other than the faith I have in that lone government?”

Not surprisingly, currently there is no agreement by any government regarding what exactly Bitcoins are and how they should be handled. But it is a given that governments are not going to give up their control over monetary supply or financial transactions easily and general acceptance of Bitcoins, if it happens at all, will be a bottoms-up process.

What About Japan?

Which brings us to Mt.Gox’s status in Japan and its future. They have been in discussion with the Japanese authorities – the Financial Services Agency (FSA) – for 1 and 1/2 years about the business and how it should be regulated. And as an example of how difficult it is to accurately peg what Bitcoins are, the Japanese authorities, to date, say that Mt.Gox does not need a financial license. “There are 3 kinds of licenses for financial activities in Japan and what we do is actually not covered by any of them, so at the moment, the FSA says we are outside of their jurisdiction. There has been discussion about trying to fit us under one of the licenses or to make a new license for our business, but it is not clear where it is going to go at this point.”

To date, the vast majority of the company’s business has been outside of Japan, which is likely why there hasn’t been much concern by the Japanese authorities – yet. But this may change if interest in Bitcoins in Japan starts to grow as it has in Europe and the Americas.

Some More Background…

Some people think that Bitcoins are a Japanese invention and that Mt.Gox is a natural outcropping of that. But while the inventor of Bitcoins signed the registration documents as Satoshi Nakamoto, this was almost certainly an assumed name and even the Mt.Gox guys are not sure who exactly this person was. For Mark and Mt.Gox, their role came via a connection through another venture business.

Mark started another company in Japan called Tibanne which is a hosting and domain management business. Mark actually built a Bitcoin client in order to accept payments by Bitcoin for his hosting business. Through this, Mark met Jeb McCaleb, founder of Mt.Gox. McCaleb had started the company as an online card trading exchange called “Magic The Gathering Online eXchange” – hence the name, Mt.Gox. But when he built the Bitcoin exchange, it soon became the majority of the business.

And eventually, in a classic entrepreneurial “I liked it so much I bought the company” moment, Tibanne acquired 88% of Mt.Gox and it became a subsidiary of Tibanne.  McCaleb moved on to other ventures and Mt.Gox went on to become the #1 exchange in the business.

So What Does the Future Hold?

There are countless threats to the business, but in Mark’s view, countless ways for the business model to put its stamp on world business and the future of money and economics.

“Bitcoins have hit a certain critical mass of recognition, even if general acceptance is still sometime in the future. And we’re seeing the inevitable challenges and pushback felt in any new business model and leading edge opportunity. But if we can continue to explain the advantages of Bitcoins while providing a safe and robust service, we’ll be in a position to help reach the next important step forward toward a truly transparent, global world economy.”

At the Samsung PREMIERE 2013 London, Samsung Electronics announced the launch of the GALAXY NX, the first 3G/4G LTE Connected Compact 20.3Mpix APS-C sensor System Camera (CSC) runing on Android 4.2.2 and featuring a powerful 1.6GHz Pega-Q quad-core alongside a gorgeous 4.8″ HD LCD display. Versatile and easy to use, the GALAXY NX combines cutting edge optical performance with connectivity capabilities and galaxy of applications based on Android eco-system, all in one stylish package. The result is a new type of connected device which allows users to turn their experiences into a story that can be instantly shared with anyone they choose, from wherever they might be, in amazing color and outstanding detail.

The first signs of trouble at Fukushima were quickly followed by expectations of an action-ready ASIMO leaping to the rescue. Honda’s humanoid remains far from able, but their new High-Access Survey Robot is on the job, and of some consolation: it’s got ASIMO parts.

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After more than two years of research and development, in collaboration with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and with input and direction from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Honda has finally made good on its commitment to assist with recovery and repair at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

High-Access Survey Robot is as High-Access Survey Robot Does
“High-Access Survey” isn’t super creative in the naming department, but it really does nail what this technically two-piece robot is all about: 1. movement via tracked chassis with a variable-height platform allowing operators to peer into hard to see, difficult to access places up to 23ft/7m high (that’s AIST’s tech); 2. providing a comprehensive visual survey from the camera-equipped arm and automatic 3D mapping of the robot’s immediate location (thanks, ASIMO!); 3. a new control system that increases dexterity by allowing operators to manipulate several robotic joints at once (more ASIMO-tech); and 4. shock-resistant arms, e.g., within a reasonable range, the robot’s arms will remain steady and on-task even when other parts or the entire machine gets jostled around (that’s the big present from ASIMO, detailed below).

The robot’s advancements and benefits are pretty clear:
AIST’s sturdy, low center of gravity, tracked base keeps things moving over potentially rough terrain, and when the arm platform is fully extended it’s probably the tallest stand-alone robot out there (at least among robots that actually like, you know, do stuff).

The first two gifts from ASIMO are visually subtle, but operationally quite significant. Performing extremely important jobs through a single camera lens is the status quo drudgery for current recovery & repair robotics, so this system’s 3D view of the robot’s surroundings combined with increased dexterity are welcome enhancements (presumably, a number of different tools could make their way onto the business end of Honda’s arm). The last gift from ASIMO, the gift of stability, well there’s a bit of history to all that, and we’ll get to it below – first, here’s how the job will be done:

So there you go – it’s certainly an achievement, and along with several other machines already at work or heading to Fukushima (see: Japan’s Robot Renaissance: Fukushima’s Silver Lining), Honda’s new robot is a unique and valuable contribution to the recovery & repair effort. Okay – great, happy day!

But wait…
So, Honda’s very highly accomplished robotics division (our coverage: Honda Robots for the Home • Honda Robots You Wear) has spent two years at this? Even casual tech observers know that we’ve had durable, effective crawler robots with cameras and nimble, powerful arms for well over a decade (see: iRobot), and those with a slightly higher level of robo-geekery know Honda’s been working on bipedal humanoid robots for almost 30 years.

Honda’s résumé reasonably amplifies everyone’s expectations; as such, both when things went bad at Fukushima, and even NOW, it’s not unreasonable to wonder why they’ve reinvented the tracked robot wheel, so to speak, and why there are still no practical, deployable results from all the time, money, and brains put into ASIMO. Can’t that robot at least do… something!?

Presents from ASIMO: the Humanoid has Indeed Contributed
ASIMO is often billed as the world’s most advanced humanoid robot (that’s recently become debatable), and it does have some autonomous capabilities, but what’s brought to the public eye is largely choreographed to a specific environment. The very robo-dorky among us knew it was entirely unreasonable to expect anything of ASIMO as a stand alone robot, but we did know that ASIMO is and has always been a research platform with wild potential. Honda, openly apologetic and conciliatory of its inability to immediately assist with Fukushima recovery & repair, got straight to work:

(see the derived-from-ASIMO self-steadying arm/leg tech in action, jump to 14:50 in this NHK documentary)

The self-steadying, self-balancing arm Honda engineers created, obviously, is the predecessor to the limb mounted on the new High-Access Survey Robot. So the work kinda paid off. The prototype provided design cues, inspiration, and data – and then was put away in Honda’s warehouse of lost robotic toys or whatever.

Or was it? Now, speculation is at best speculative, but what if maybe, maybe that arm isn’t on a shelf somewhere? What if, big if, but what if there’s also a body… and it’s not ASIMO?

Because Fool Honda Once, Shame on You…
Naively, but with hope inspired by Honda’s technological achievements, the world called for ASIMO to help at Fukushima, but Honda could do nothing. Now, pressure is building from the very exciting, fueled by international competition for prizes and prestige, Fukushima-inspired DARPA Robotics Challenge (our coverage). And, looming off in the future is the possibility that Japan’s best robots might once again get upstaged by something from the U.S., or Korea, Poland, Germany, etc. That’s a lot of pressure, but it’s also a ton of motivation.

Honda engineers extracted a polished, self-steadying/balancing arm from ASIMO’s leg in 8 months. In the 18 since, would they really have only managed to attach some eyes and bolt it to a crawler with a really long neck?

Akihabara News’ robotics coverage will keep you hip to developments – and you’ll wanna stay tuned in – because unless Honda’s hoping to get fooled again, it’s both safe to assume they’ve remained busy, and safe to assume that the image below is more than just a rendering; it might be something awesome.

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Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

VIA: IT Media (Japanese/日本語); Honda Robotics (Japanese/日本語)
Images: Honda Robotics; NHK