Sunday 04 October 2015


Meet the robot dancer and the mechanical portrait artist

A human-like robot that can dance, another that can paint portraits and others that behave like animals such as shrews and fish have been unveiled.

Engineers are creating robots that mimic biological organisms including fish, mammals and even plants in an attempt to produce machines that can operate in the real world alongside humans.

Until now most robots have been confined to factories and performing mundane tasks.

They rarely are allowed to work alongside humans as they follow preprogrammed movements and can pose a risk to the safety of their soft-bodied, biological creators.

But researchers at a conference on biologically inspired robots at the Natural History Museum and Science Museum in London, have showcased new machines that could see robots becoming far more common in our places of work and homes.

More than 120 scientists from all over the world have gathered for the Living Machines conference to discuss how to mimic the natural world to build better robots.

They hope to use lessons from animals, plants and even bacteria to make robots more able to operate in the real world alongside humans.

They are also using psychology to make robots interact more realistically with human beings.

One example is iCub, a humanoid robot that can wake at a human touch, can appear to watch their movements intently and even perform dance like movements with a human partner.

Professor Paul Verschure, leader of the synthetic perceptive, emotive and cognitive systems group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, said the robot used social learning to interact with people.

He said: "We as humans infer social situations from facial situations and body language. As we talk we might look at an object together or follow each others gazes.

"That helps to show that we are paying attention, but most robots do not do this. It is one of the reasons why people feel uncomfortable with robots.

"Using this idea of mirroring we can make robots more socially acceptable. Turn taking is another important strategy – allowing the other person to say something or to lead a movement.

"We use technology that allows the robot to intuitively interact with us based on how it perceives what we are doing and then applying a psychological strategy to the way it responds.

"We are taking steps towards having something that will feel natural but there is still some way to go."

iCub can also interact with humans to generate music using a DJ style table where moving blocks around can generate different sounds.

Another of the robots on display was a sketching robot called Paul. Using a standard webcam, the robot is able to "see" someone sitting in a chair in front of it.

A robotic arm then sketches a portrait of the person in front of them, producing almost a perfect likeness in much the same way many street artists do in cities around the world.

For its creator, Patrick Tresset, an artist and researcher at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the Goldsmiths University of London, it means he can sit back and let the robot do the work.

He said: "I taught the robot to draw in the way I painted. I have a stack of drawings now as the robot can create them without stopping.

"While a person is sat in front of it, it will draw them, but if they are not there, it can also draw from memory."

Other robots on show included a robot "predator" that behaves like a tiny mammal called the Etruscan shrew.

With a set of sensitive whiskers on the front of its nose it can chase other robots around a room by feeling for them. It can also create detailed maps of its surroundings.

The researchers behind the ShrewBot, who are based at the University of Sheffield, are also working on even more sensitive whiskers that they hope will allow robots to perform delicate tasks.

With a finely tuned sense of touch they will be able to pick up fragile objects and handle them, or even touch people without any risk of hurting them.

Others are working on robotic fish fins that use sensors to detect the strain created by the movement through the water to control the swimming motion of a robot.

A robotic octopus that has soft arms that can grip, squeeze and change shape has also been developed by a consortium of European researchers.

Japanese scientists have developed a helmet that allows the wearer to see much like the separately swivelling eyes of a Chameleon, with cameras that move independently and show the images on screen in front of the wearer's eyes.

Italian researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia have turned to dogs and horses to find inspiration for a four legged robot that can tackle difficult terrain and even walk up stairs.

It could mean that soon robots will be able to go where the Daleks in Dr Who never could.

They have managed to get the robot to travel at a speed of four miles per hour and it can tackle a range of obstacles.

Dr Claudio Semini, from the advanced robotics team who developed the HyQ as it is called, said: "We are envisaging a new generation of vehicles that have legs rather than wheels.

"On roads, tyres will be faster, but off road legs work better. Animals like horses and dogs can move a lot faster over rough ground and this is what we are inspired by."

The robot uses a system of sensors and accelerometers to help it detect obstacles and stay upright as it walks.

Other scientists have turned to worms to produce robots that crawl, or flat worms like those found in the ocean to produce those that can swim.

One fairly primitive robot also featured a wagging tale to allow it to swim like a tuna fish.

Professor Tony Prescott, co-director of the adaptive behaviour robotics group at the University of Sheffield and joint organiser of the conference, said: "We are trying to make robots more robust.

"For most of the advanced robots being used out there, if you put then on uneven ground they will most likely fall over.

"We want to be able to take them out and put them in real world situations and nature can help to provide some of the solutions to those challenges.

"If we want robots that can live and work alongside people they have to be able to interact with them.

"The first applications where we will see them being used, however, are likely to be those that are too dangerous, dirty or mundane for humans.

"Working underwater is a good example of where they could really make a difference, particularly as we are looking to exploit more resources that are deep in the oceans."

Professor Tony Prescott, co-director of the adaptive behaviour robotics group at the University of Sheffield who has been overseeing the whiskers project, said they set out to learn lessons from animals.

His team have also developed robots that use highly sensitive synthetic bristles that mimic the whiskers used by the Etruscan shrew as it explores its underground environment.

The robot can gently explore objects and manoeuvres itself. They said they hoped such sensors, called BioTact, would allow robots to gently grasp and pick up delicate objects.

ShrewBot, a mobile robot modelled on the shrew, is also capable of chasing other robots around a room or mapping its environment using its sensitive nose.

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