與此同時(shí)，今天的類人機(jī)器人幾乎不具備任何實(shí)用功能。制造家用清潔機(jī)器人和軍用型機(jī)器人的iRobot公司CE0科林-安格爾稱：“它們代表著難以置信的研究和技術(shù)，這些研究和技術(shù)隨后得到了應(yīng)用。研發(fā)類人機(jī)器人的研發(fā)人員正在作令人吃驚的、令人激動(dòng)的工作，但這無法驅(qū)逐動(dòng)機(jī)器人行業(yè)，除非它是為了娛樂目的。”
大眾科學(xué)本期封面
日本最先進(jìn)的類人機(jī)器人“阿西莫”以它的平衡性和適應(yīng)性而聞名，它甚至可以以一種笨拙的、很機(jī)器人的方式奔跑。不過，當(dāng)它遇到一個(gè)關(guān)閉的門后，表演就結(jié)束了，因?yàn)樯焓?、抓住門把手、轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)門把手、向前走、推開門所需要的計(jì)算仍然過于復(fù)雜。不過，日本視“阿西莫”為一個(gè)應(yīng)對(duì)廣泛科學(xué)挑戰(zhàn)的長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)投資，這些科學(xué)挑戰(zhàn)包括材料科學(xué)、人工智能。它不是機(jī)器人管家，它事關(guān)大局，它是日本有關(guān)我們的未來將充滿有益的、有知覺的日本制造機(jī)器信念的圖騰。
這種開放的構(gòu)想在美國(guó)并不奏效，我們的投資環(huán)境重視近期產(chǎn)品而不是圖騰。因此，盡管美國(guó)有各種機(jī)器人項(xiàng)目，但它在發(fā)展類人機(jī)器人方面落后日本和韓國(guó)。非贏利的世界技術(shù)評(píng)估中心2006年在獲得國(guó)家科學(xué)基金和其它團(tuán)體贊助后公布了一份名為《機(jī)器人研究和發(fā)展的國(guó)際評(píng)估》的報(bào)告，報(bào)告會(huì)對(duì)美國(guó)和世界其它國(guó)家在機(jī)器人方面的研究進(jìn)行了比較。報(bào)告的結(jié)論認(rèn)為，盡管美國(guó)在軍用和醫(yī)用機(jī)器人領(lǐng)域領(lǐng)先世界，但它正在快速失去優(yōu)勢(shì)，在機(jī)器人機(jī)動(dòng)性和類人機(jī)器人方面處于落后地位。報(bào)告的作者們寫道：“盡管機(jī)器人在世界范圍內(nèi)是一個(gè)非?；钴S的領(lǐng)域，但日本、韓國(guó)、歐盟向私營(yíng)行業(yè)的機(jī)器人研究和發(fā)展投入了比美國(guó)更多的資金。”
2004年和2005年率領(lǐng)世界技術(shù)評(píng)估中心調(diào)研小組前往韓國(guó)和日本進(jìn)行調(diào)研的美國(guó)南加州大學(xué)工程學(xué)教授喬治-比克伊稱：“大量資金涌向大學(xué)和研究中心。韓國(guó)在機(jī)器人方面的經(jīng)費(fèi)每年達(dá)8000萬美元，與此形成對(duì)比的是，美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)基金對(duì)民用機(jī)器人的經(jīng)費(fèi)拔款每年只有1000萬美元。”
軍方在美國(guó)機(jī)器人的投入是很有力的，但美國(guó)的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)機(jī)器人平臺(tái)并沒有使美國(guó)更加接近類人機(jī)器人，這些平臺(tái)都是為排除炸彈和空中偵察等專用目的制造的，所以它們并不提供更為廣泛的機(jī)會(huì)。世界技術(shù)評(píng)估中心報(bào)告寫道：“韓國(guó)和日本在機(jī)器人方面提出了國(guó)家戰(zhàn)略倡議。在美國(guó)， Darpa項(xiàng)目(軍方為高層次機(jī)器人所提供資金的主要項(xiàng)目)是高度應(yīng)用性，是以短期目標(biāo)為出發(fā)點(diǎn)的，對(duì)機(jī)器人基礎(chǔ)研究的支持已被大幅削減了。”
The Loneliest Humanoid in America
Walking, self-contained, adult-size robots are commonplace in robotics labs in Japan and South Korea, but there’s only one made here. Why are we falling behind?
Let’s assume that someday you will have, in your home, a humanoid robot helper. The robot, because it’s shaped like you, can use your tools and move easily around your house. It folds the laundry, it helps your elderly mother up the stairs, and on Sundays it makes brunch for the family. It’s capable of handling almost any household chore you can throw at it。
Now let’s imagine that you’re out on the lawn, kicking a ball around with your son. Your robot helper is in another part of the yard, its back to you both, fixing a drainpipe. Your son misses a kick, and the ball winds up a few feet from the robot. “Hey, robot!” you shout. “A little help?” The robot turns in place, spots the ball, walks over, and kicks it back to you. The game resumes。
Of all the tasks you would undoubtedly love to hand off to a robot assistant, fetching a soccer ball is probably low on the list. And yet in 2010, there is no humanoid robot on Earth that can consistently do something as simple as turn, spot, approach, and kick. Never mind helping Grandma to bed or starching your shirts. Broken into a daisy chain of input, calculation and action, just kicking a ball is incredibly hard. It’s so difficult, in fact, that engineers from all over the world have embraced it as the modern era’s standardized test of humanoid-robot sophistication, and they converge each June at an event called RoboCup to try it. This year, only one adult-size, self-contained, humanoid robot in this country can even attempt it。
Its name is CHARLI-L (the “L” stands for “Lightweight” and the rest for “Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence”). Created at Virginia Tech, it’s America’s first true humanoid, in that it requires no remote power source or computer, it stands roughly five feet tall and has arms and legs, and it walks—left, right, left, right—like a human。