"Robo-Revolution"-Robot Research
Wednesday, May 06, 2009SUSIE GHARIB: Godzilla-sized hurdles remain before robots will be as smart, skillful, and safe as human beings. So the Japanese are taking a different tack. Instead of trying to make robots more human, some engineers are trying to make humans a little robotic. Tonight as we continue our series "Robo-Revolution," Lucy Craft tries on some robotic apparel for size.
LUCY CRAFT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Japanese engineers are on the case when it comes to figuring out how aging societies can get a leg up, literally, on the ravages of physical decline. Jun Ashihara directs robot research at Honda Motor (HMC).
JUN ASHIHARA, WALKING-ASSIST ROBOT PROJECT LEADER, HONDA (through translator): Workers who have to stay on their feet, who have to bend down a lot, that's who we have in mind for this robot.
CRAFT: Honda hopes its "walking-assist" robot will reduce fatigue among car assembly workers. But the company envisions walking-assist robots perambulating far beyond the auto factory. At tourist sites, entertainment events, wherever long lines form, virtually anyplace where tired pedestrians are looking to take a load off, Honda says, is a potential goldmine for robotic relief.
ASHIHARA (through translator): You just lift it into place, and it gives you seven pounds of support. Flex your legs, and you get 20 pounds of support. And it's springy.
CRAFT: The device is deceptively simply, a pair of shoes, a bicycle seat, and lightweight joints, so the user can be up and walking in a few seconds. Sensors in the shoes tell the motorized limbs how much lift is needed. Seat and frame follow the movement of your legs. You don't feel the power of this robot very much when you're walking on flat ground. But when you're going up and down stairs like I am right now, it really feels like it's supporting your weight. And it's actually quite comfortable. Full-body robo-suits are already helping handicapped patients walk, but this version is designed for healthy users. Tokyo A&T University's robo-suit is rugged enough to wear in a rice paddy or daikon radish patch. Put it on, and voila, the backbreaking job of harvesting produce by hand becomes almost effortless, says professor Shigeki Toyama.
SHIGEKI TOYAMA, ROBOTICIST, TOKYO A&T UNIVERSITY (through translator): The robot does all the work. All you have to do is grab the vegetable and hang on. There is no burden at all on your hips or knees. It's an unusual feeling.
CRAFT: Eventually Professor Toyama plans to put his robo-suits on sale for about $1,000. Demand for a robotic helping hand, he says, is acute in Japan, where most farmers are over the age of 60 and more than a third are 75 or older.
TOYAMA (through translator): I want to not only make their work easier, but more productive. With this device, they can harvest twice as much. Also, if we can ease the physical burden on farmers, they will stay healthy longer and reduce our national health care bill.
CRAFT: The suit still weighs and costs too much, yet Professor Toyama vows that robo-suits will become as common around the farm here as gimme caps and tractors within just a few years. Lucy Craft, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Tokyo.
