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INSIGHT April 25, 2002 Pasadena, California - USA Evolution Robotics, the brainchild of Idealab founder Bill Gross, is working on taking robotics a step closer to the sci-fi dreams that the robotics industry has yet to fulfill. Employing more than 20 scientists -- many of them hardware and software engineers from Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge and Caltech -- the firm is building a software platform it plans to offer to other companies that wish to sell better, more sophisticated robots. To accomplish this, the company has built prototype robots to test its software platform, new sensors and computer boards. The company is already marketing its robot developer kit, which can be used to construct a robot to experiment with Evolution Robotics software. Company officials say they have begun talks with four different companies, but they declined to provide names, or say for how much the finished product would sell. "It's very much like an industrial strength Lego kit," said Jennifer McNally, senior director of marketing for Evolution Robotics. She said the robot kit likely will begin shipping within the next month. What sets Evolution Robotics' system apart is that the robot platform is a step toward full autonomy, its makers say. A book can be placed in front of the robot prototype's optics, and it can read text aloud. Using facial recognition, the robot can identify an individual, follow them around, all the while avoiding obstacles. And it's those basic operations, said Paolo Pirjanian, chief scientist for Evolution Robotics, that make their product what he considers a first-generation robot. Robots, such as the popular toy Furby, could be considered generation zero, Pirjanian said. "As we see the market growing, we are prepared to provide more and more sophisticated software to allow the robots to take on more tasks," Pirjanian said. Although it may be some time before everyone has robot butlers in their home, many near-future applications for robotics have household use in mind, he said. One such advancement on the market is the robot vacuum cleaner, which Sweden-based AB Electrolux recently launched in Europe. But such robots are rudimentary, Pirjanian said. Users are required to put down magnetic tape so the robot can detect boundaries such as walls and chairs. The robot follows a random pattern, and over a long period of time, it's able to vacuum most of the areas, he said. What Evolution Robotics software will do is allow the robot to create a map of a room using a computer-aided design. This will enable the robot to navigate using features in the home, such as a doorway and a table, to triangulate its own position, he said. Other future uses could be for a television stand that follows viewers around the room to maintain the optimal viewing angle, he said. Robots also eventually will be able to recognize emotions by analyzing the sound of a person's voice based on its amplitude or tone, Pirjanian said. Such abilities could prove useful if, for instance, a child keeps losing games, the system can adapt the difficulty level to allow the child to win more often. The same idea could be used in educational applications, he said. Pirjanian said one of the biggest breakthroughs in robotics in recent times is affordability. Robotics makers now have access to cheaper products, such as sensor technology. "You can buy a Web camera for
$20, when just five years ago talking about hundreds of dollars for something
comparable," he said. Did you find this material interesting? Do you want more information of this type? Comment via FEEDBACK
Source: (c) 2002, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Publication date: 2002-04-23
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