Towards a Future of Closer Human-Robot Distance

As we’ve entered an era where the role of robots has shifted from the behind scenes of manufacturing products that support people's lives to directly providing services to people, we now have more opportunities to see them, but the sight of robots among us is still far from commonplace.

While there are various theories concerning the history of robots, we know they’ve been around for more than 800 years, dating back to the 12th century when mechanically-moving dolls called "automata" started to be built in Paris, France. As for industrial robots, their history is just over half a century old, as the first industrial robots in the world to be put to practical use are believed to be "Unimate" and "Versatran", developed in 1961 by, respectively, American manufacturers Unimation and AMF. ⁱ.

Since their birth, in the course of a process that has already taken many years, the many kinds of technologies that are incorporated in robots, including various systems, actuators, control devices, safety sensors, voice and image recognition, self-localization and more, have continued to evolve as a result of research in a plethora of fields and robots’ performance and functionalities have significantly improved.

If we now turn our attention to the “distance between humans and robots” when robots work, in the early days robots were separated by fences and operated in ways that didn’t allow for communication; in other words, no mutual relationships were possible. However, in recent years, research to shorten the distance to robots has been actively conducted, leading to the development of technologies designed to facilitate coexistence and collaboration with humans. Coexistence is exemplified by the image of robots and people being assigned different tasks in order to make the same thing, and implies a degree of distance, as robots and humans do not come into contact with the same objects. Collaboration is exemplified by the image of robots and humans touching the same objects together and mutually collaborating to create something, and we already have several examples of so-called collaborating robots operating in manufacturing plants that have improved safety for humans.

However, the degree to which robots are used among humans is still limited, and it can be said that applying them at the place where you want to use is still not easy. The state of affairs described in Omron's corporate philosophy, namely that "Let machines do what they do best, and leave creativity for people to enjoy". is still far from reality, and in order to bring robots closer to humans we must lower the threshold for accepting robots.

The goal being pursued by the Omron's robot development team is the even more idealistic one of "achieving mutual co-evolution between humans and robots".

Co-evolution means that one organism adapts to another so that both organisms mutually evolve. In order to mutually evolve, mutual interaction is necessary. In case between humans and robots, we believe that what is required is not just for robots to perform functions and tasks that are useful to humans, but that we develop an emotional connection that can bridge the psychological distance, so that robots are no longer perceived as alien entities.

For that purpose, in addition to improving functionalities and performance, we also aim to ensure the mutual recognition of emotions by combining the rapidly evolving public technologies of artificial intelligence (AI), high-speed data processing, and high-speed communication (5G, etc.), with our own technologies of the sensing (for observing humans) and control (for regulating moving objects).

It is commonly believed that, with the progressive improvement in the performance of electronic devices and the further development of AI, the number of jobs where humans can be supplanted by robots will increase. However, it will be difficult for robots and machines to replace the jobs that require moving or adjusting one’s mind, such as social workers, trainers, orthoptists, doctors, nurses, choreographers, elementary school teachers, psychological counselors, priests, managers, and etc. And that is because a “heart” is required to perform tasks that are connected to human feelings and emotions. While providing robots with emotions is a very high hurdle, we are determined to take on the challenge of creating a robot capable of the kind of attentiveness that can touch the human heart. Because we believe that robots that are capable of being attentive and that one can feel at ease with will be more likely to be accepted than working robots operating with extreme efficiency, that have a threatening or rugged demeanor and about which there is no way to know what they are up to.

The term "attentiveness" also includes nuances of "compassion" and "consideration." In order for robots to be capable of attentiveness, it is fundamental for them to look closely at those they are dealing with and understand them through sensing technology and AI. Also, in order to control their actions through control technology based on that information, it is necessary for them to be in sync with the human intentions and move flexibly. Making robots that are guaranteed to respect legal requirements regarding safety is not enough, we must make robots that people are not scared of.

The attentiveness and hospitality of the Japanese people are well known the world over. There are many examples of hospitality based on the concept of "ichi-go ich-ie" (once-in-a-lifetime meeting) derived from the tea ceremony. As a simple example of attentiveness that is immediately familiar to us, consider the natural gestures of a person walking with an open umbrella through a narrow space and who, when about to pass another person, looks at them and tilts the umbrella sideways while the other person, seeing that, also tilts the umbrella so that they can both pass smoothly. We would like to incorporate this kind of thoughtful behavior in self-moving robots, like those transporting objects.

Another important element is research on how to teach motion to robots. We think it is essential to move away from creating programs that operate in computer languages or specialized robot languages and to be able to adopt teaching methods that do not require special conversion, as when asking a friend to run an errand for us. With the help of Omron's "Sensing & Control + Think" technologies, we are determined to accelerate research to develop "people-centered" robots that one can feel at ease with so as to make it possible for robots to be accepted in the world and co-evolve together with humans.

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Source: Systematic survey of industrial robot technology development --kahaku.go.jp