"The need for robots to be our companions and to alleviate our loneliness may be the most influencing factor of all. Whether we're elderly and alone, young and single, or an only child, a robot can (and will) serve as a friend, lover, and teacher." -Joanne Pransky

Humanoid Links The Honda P3 Humanoid Robot meets Dr. Joanne. The ultimate advancement in service robotics is the personal or humanoid robot. If you still think humanoids are science fiction, then check out these websites and get prepared for the most dramatic technological invention that will profoundly change our lives unlike any other previous invention (yes, that includes the automobile, PC, and the Internet). Humanoid companions will overwhelmingly change our society, our relationships, and redefine the family. If a domestic robot, acting as the majordomo of the household, were available today that could communicate and control all the other robotic appliances and equipment in the home as well as do the mundane tasks such as taking the garbage out, retrieving your eyeglasses from the upstairs bedroom, cooking, and caring for your ailing live-in parent, how much time would that save you in a week? The technology exists and it can be done. A household robot would result in reduction of stress, a decrease in divorce rate, and an increase in the quality of life. Why is the household robot not as high a political goal of the United States as was putting man on the moon? Perhaps it is the public's misconceptions of robots, fueled by negative depictions in the movies and media, combined with a lack of knowledge on the benefits of robotics, which is preventing the household robot from its inception. Nonetheless, once we do have household robots, there will be issues in the future that none of us may be prepared for. As one Japanese humanoid developer recently stated, "What I want is a robot that is like my wife." What if his wish comes true in the next 10 to 20 years? Will he have a humanoid that looks like his wife at the time he gets a household robot, or when she was younger? Perhaps he wasn't referring to her looks at all. Maybe he was referring to a being that was caring and a good listener. Maybe he just meant that he wanted a robot that could cook as well as she. Regardless, how will his wife feel having someone like herself around her husband everyday? Will she feel jealous or threatened? The humanoid certainly needs to have some set of emotions, even if they are machine-based, in order to be able to function with humans. Will it/she develop any "feelings" for her master? On the other hand, if someone lives alone, what could be better than the perfect companion to take care of you and protect you if you're elderly or ill, or if you just want some intimacy? Maybe the need for other humans (i.e., marriage) will decrease especially if your household robot can clone you if you want children. Will we still want human companions? The answers to the above questions remain unknown for now, but one fact is clear: the humanoid is inevitable and we as a society are witnessing its infancy. The majority of humanoid development is occurring in Japan where half of its registered engineers are centered on robot intelligence and related fields.

Humanoid Links: Check out some of these websites: • www.androidworld.com • The HRIWeb • www.humanoids.ws • www.robodex.org • www.androidworld.com This award winning site features anything and everything that is being done in the humanoid world, including the world's greatest android projects, domestic robots available for purchase today, entertainment and personal androids, and the world's largest robotic sites. • The HRIWeb The HRIWeb: The Human-Robot Interaction Site is a web archive of a collection of resources for the emerging field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). They invite researchers and interested colleagues from disciplines such as robotics, cognitive science, human-computer interaction (HCI), artificial intelligence (AI), systems engineering, etc., to submit materials that are directly related to the field of HRI. • www.humanoids.ws The Humanoid Robotics website lists current and past IEEE-RAS International Conferences on Humanoids. • www.robodex.org The "World's first exposition of human partner robots" was held in 2000 and this annual Japanese forum continues to feature some of the world's most sophisticated personal robots. • Contact Dr. Joanne