Category: Robotics

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Little Teacher

Alpha Mini is a social robot characterized by small size (and thus good transportability) and extensive natural language and motor skills. It can be used in school lessons, both as a teacher and tutor and as a tool with which to program. On March 8, 2023, a new project started at the School of Business FHNW, in which Alpha Mini plays a leading role. The initiator is Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel, who has been researching conversational agents and social robots for a quarter of a century. Andrin Allemann is contributing to the project as part of his final thesis. Alpha Mini will be integrated into a learning environment and will be able to interact and communicate with other components such as a display. It is to convey simple learning material with the help of pictures and texts and motivate the children through gestural and mimic feedback. So this is a little teacher with great possibilities. In principle, it should comply with the new Swiss federal law on data protection (neues Datenschutzgesetz, nDSG). The project will last until August 2023, after which the results will be published.

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The Latest Findings in Social Robotics

The proceedings of ICSR 2022 were published in early 2023. Included is the paper “The CARE-MOMO Project” by Oliver Bendel and Marc Heimann. From the abstract: “In the CARE-MOMO project, a morality module (MOMO) with a morality menu (MOME) was developed at the School of Business FHNW in the context of machine ethics. This makes it possible to transfer one’s own moral and social convictions to a machine, in this case the care robot with the name Lio. The current model has extensive capabilities, including motor, sensory, and linguistic. However, it cannot yet be personalized in the moral and social sense. The CARE-MOMO aims to eliminate this state of affairs and to give care recipients the possibility to adapt the robot’s ‘behaviour’ to their ideas and requirements. This is done in a very simple way, using sliders to activate and deactivate functions. There are three different categories that appear with the sliders. The CARE-MOMO was realized as a prototype, which demonstrates the functionality and aids the company in making concrete decisions for the product. In other words, it can adopt the morality module in whole or in part and further improve it after testing it in facilities.” The book (part II of the proceedings) can be downloaded or ordered via link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-24670-8.

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Atlas Finally has Hands

“Boston Dynamics just released the latest demo of its humanoid robot, Atlas. The robot could already run and jump over complex terrain thanks to its feet. Now, the robot has hands, per se. These rudimentary grippers give the robot new life. Suddenly, instead of being an agile pack mule, the Atlas becomes something closer to a human, with the ability to pick up and drop off anything it can grab independently.” (TechCrunch, January 18, 2023) This was reported by TechCrunch on January 18, 2023. Hands are actually very important for Atlas. The humanoid robot could now pick up or move heavy objects on a construction site. But it could also take care of trapped or injured animals in a nature park, freeing them or providing them with food and water. Such visions have been described by robot ethicist and machine ethicist Oliver Bendel for some time. A video released on January 18, 2023 shows the grippers picking up construction lumber and a nylon tool bag. “Next, the Atlas picks up a 2×8 and places it between two boxes to form a bridge. The Atlas then picks up a bag of tools and dashes over the bridge and through construction scaffolding. But the tool bag needs to go to the second level of the structure – something Atlas apparently realized and quickly throws the bag a considerable distance.” (TechCrunch, January 18, 2023) At the end of the video, Atlas does a somersault and then extends its hand – its brand new hand – triumphantly.

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About Robots in Policing

In January 2023, the Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2022 were published. Included is the paper “Robots in Policing” by Oliver Bendel. From the abstract: “This article is devoted to the question of how robots are used in policing and what opportunities and risks arise in social terms. It begins by briefly explaining the characteristics of modern police work. It puts service robots and social robots in relation to each other and outlines relevant disciplines. The article also lists types of robots that are and could be relevant in the present context. It then gives examples from different countries of the use of robots in police work and security services. From these, it derives the central tasks of robots in this area and their most important technical features. A discussion from social, ethical, and technical perspectives seeks to provide clarity on how robots are changing the police as a social institution and with social actions and relationships, and what challenges need to be addressed.” (Abstract) Robots in policing is a topic that has not received much attention. However, it is likely to become considerably more topical in the next few years. More information about the conference on cas.au.dk/en/robophilosophy/conferences/rpc2022 (Photo: Anna Jarske-Fransas).

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Hugged by a Robot

The HUGGIE project at the School of Business FHNW is moving forward. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel, the team of four (Andrea Puljic, Robin Heiz, Ivan De Paola, Furkan Tömen) will test a hug doll on users until January 2023. It is already known that warmth and softness of the arms and body are desired. Now the team is investigating whether, for example, voice, vibration and smell also increase acceptance. The key question of the practical project is: Can a social robot help increase physical and mental well-being through hugs and touches, and what factors should be taken into account? The basis of HUGGIE is a dressmaker’s dummy. Added to this are clothing, a warming element, a vibration element, and an audio system. In addition, a scent is applied. The arms are moved by invisible strings so that active hugs are possible. Overall, the impression of a hugging robot is created. A trial run with 65 test persons took place in a Swiss company in November 2022. They were hugged by HUGGIE and a giant teddy bear. Based on the results and impressions, the questionnaire and the test setup will be improved. From the end of November 2022, the project will enter its final phase, with implementation and evaluation of the tests.

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The Uncanny Robot CyberOne

Xiaomi – a Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics – introduced CyberOne in August 2022. It is a humanoid social robot. It has a head, but no face, and for that reason alone it looks creepy. The company writes on its website: “As the newest member of Xiaomi’s Cyber series, joining last year’s quadruped robot Cyberdog, CyberOne is fitted with advanced arms and legs, supports bipedal-motion posture balancing, and reaches a peak torque of up to 300Nm. Also demonstrated was the ability to detect human emotion, advanced vision capabilities, and functionality allowing it to create three-dimensional virtual reconstructions of the real world, alongside a host of other advanced technologies.” (Xiaomi, August 11, 2022) Via www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJhneBJIfOk you can watch a video with CyberOne. Overall, the demonstration seems unconvincing. The missing face has already been mentioned. The robot makes sounds that are more appropriate for a small toy and entertainment robot. In addition, it moves stiffly and slowly. You can say that the list of uncanny robots has been expanded with CyberOne. Maybe the company can improve the prototype and make it more compelling.

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Robots in Law and Policing

Robophilosophy 2022 at the University of Helsinki is the fifth event in the biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series. It “will explore the societal significance of social robots for the future of social institutions with its usual broad scope, embracing both theoretical and practical angles” (CfP Robophilosophy). It “is an invitation to philosophers and other SSH researchers, as well as researchers in social robotics and HRI, to investigate from interdisciplinarily informed perspectives whether and how social robotics as an interdisciplinary endeavour can contribute to the ability of our institutions to perform their functions in society” (CfP Robophilosophy). Social institutions include retirement and nursing homes, strip clubs and brothels, monasteries and seminaries, and police departments. Oliver Bendel (School of Business FHNW) will have the opportunity to present his paper entitled “Robots in Policing” in session 1, “Robots in Law and Policing”. Cindy Friedman (“Granting Negative Rights to Humanoid Robots”) and Jakob Stenseke (“The Use and Abuse of Normative Ethics for Moral Machines”) will speak after him. In addition, a poster by Katharina Kühne and Melinda Mende (University of Potsdam) as well als Oliver Bendel entitled “Tamagotchi on our couch: Are social robots perceived as pets?” was accepted. The full program is now available online.

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Robots Dancing Like Bees

Robot-robot communication and interaction usually takes place via networks. Spoken language can also be used. In certain situations, however, these methods reach their limits. For example, during a rescue operation in disaster areas, communication via radio signals might not be possible. With this in mind, Kaustubh Joshi from the University of Maryland and Abhra Roy Chowdhury from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed an alternative approach. Their paper states: “This research presents a novel bio-inspired framework for two robots interacting together for a cooperative package delivery task with a human-in the-loop. It contributes to eliminating the need for network-based robot-robot interaction in constrained environments. An individual robot is instructed to move in specific shapes with a particular orientation at a certain speed for the other robot to infer using object detection (custom YOLOv4) and depth perception. The shape is identified by calculating the area occupied by the detected polygonal route. A metric for the area’s extent is calculated and empirically used to assign regions for specific shapes and gives an overall accuracy of 93.3% in simulations and 90% in a physical setup. Additionally, gestures are analyzed for their accuracy of intended direction, distance, and the target coordinates in the map. The system gives an average positional RMSE of 0.349 in simulation and 0.461 in a physical experiment.” (Abstract) The way of interaction and communication is reminiscent of the bee dance – and indeed this served as a model. The paper can be accessed via www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2022.915884/full.

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First Geriatronics Summit

The goal of the First Geriatronics Summit is to highlight current and planned robotics solutions in the context of geriatronics and to raise awareness of the relevant technologies among policymakers. According to its website, the event, which will take place on June 20 and 21, 2022, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany), aims to answer the following questions: 1. How can geriatronics be used to address the growing shortage and geographic disparities in caregivers and overburdened healthcare? 2. How can robotics and AI promote independence, mobility, self-determination and health for older people for as long as possible? 3. What are the rules of autonomy and how can moral, ethical, cultural, and personal challenges and dilemmas be addressed for geriatrics? Invited scientists are Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tamim Asfour (KIT Karlsruhe), Dr. Sylvain Calinon (EPFL), Dr. Tadej Petrič (Jožef Stefan Institute), Dr. Matteo Laffranchi (Italian Institute of Technology – IIT), Prof. Adriana Tapus (Institut Polytechnique de Paris), Prof. Jim Tørresen (University of Oslo), Prof. Dr.- Ing. Sami Haddadin (TUM), Prof. Dr. med. Alena M. Buyx (TUM), Prof. Dr. oec. Oliver Bendel (Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW), Prof. Dr. Christian Djeffal (TUM), Prof. Vera Lúcia Raposo (University of Coimbra), Prof. Dr. Lee Bygrave (University of Oslo), and Prof. Dr. Martin Ebers (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin/University of Tartu). The event is supported by the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Volkswagen Foundation, among others.

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No More Drone Transports over Lake Zurich?

Swiss Post and PostBus are pioneers in the operation of robotic vehicles, robots, and drones. Swiss Post now reports the withdrawal from an project in which drones were used to transport laboratory samples: “Swiss Post drones have flown across various Swiss cities as a service for hospitals since 2017. After five years of pioneering work, the company has now decided to hand over its drone project to the Californian drone systems developer Matternet. Although the autonomous drones have attracted global interest, the current regulatory environment for unmanned aerial vehicles in Switzerland means Swiss Post is unable to use the drones widely enough or operate them at a profit. With its new strategy, the company is focusing on logistics solutions in its core business and on continuing to finance the public service for Switzerland using its own resources. This strategic decision is a logical step as part of its strategy.” (Media release Swiss Post, June 1, 2022) There were repeated problems within the project. For example, a drone once crashed into Lake Zurich. Nevertheless, the approach was generally considered innovative. It will be interesting to see whether the drone transports will be resumed one day.