Seru, lucu, rame, heboh, asyik.... Kunjungan robot Asimo ke sekolah alam Kandang Jurank Doank (KDJ) milik presenter kondang Dik Doank, Minggu kemarin, bener-bener heboh.

Robot humanoid Asimo (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) yang diboyong PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) langsung dari Jepang itu menjadi bintang yang membuat terpesona ratusan anak-anak yang hadir. Maklum kesempatan ini memang langka.

Sebelum acara dimulai, Yukihiro Aoshima, Presiden Direktur PT HPM, mengatakan kedatangan Asimo diharapkan bisa menjadi inspirasi bagi anak-anak Indonesia. "Biar kita terus belajar dan bekerja keras," kata Aoshima.

Eh, tumber-tumbennya lho Aoshima-San memberi kata sambutan dengan bahasa Indonesia. Ternyata lancar juga :)

Nggak cuma anak-anak. Beberapa selebritas juga tampak hadir. Ada pasangan drummer Gilang Ramadhan dan Shahnaz Haque beserta anaknya, penyanyi Oppie Andaresta, produser dan pentolan grup band Dewa serta The Rock, Ahmad Dhani, yang disertai tiga anaknya Al, El, dan Du, serta penyanyi Ari Lasso yang memboyong anak serta keponakannya.

"Kita panggil Asimo ya...," kata Dik Doank yang langsung disambut teriakan mengiyakan. "Tapi manggilnya mesti pelan-pelan... A... S... I... M... O... Asimo...."

Sebuah robot putih dengan tinggi 130 cm dan berat 54 kg kemudian muncul di balik pintu. Ratusan anak-anak langsung terpana. Sebagian, dengan mata kanak-kanaknya, terlihat berniar-binar.

Asimo generasi kelima ini kemudian maju ke tengah panggung. Tangannya melambai yang langsung dibalas anak-anak. "Ayo Asimo, perkenalkan dirimu," kata Dik Doank.

Asimo pun membalas perintah Dik Doank. "Selamat pagi. Apa kabar semuanya? Namaku Asimo atau Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. Usiaku delapan tahun," jawab Asimo yang ternyata sudah bisa berbahasa Indonesia :)

"Apa hobi kamu Asimo?" tanya Dik Doank. Asimo pun menjawab "Hobiku jalan-jalan, olahraga, dan menari." Asimo bercerita kalau ia ke Indonesia menggunakan pesawat jet Honda dan naik mobil Civic hybrid.

"Hobinya olahraga? Bisa main sepak bola dong?" tanya Dik Doank lagi. "Bisa," jawab Asimo.

Asimo kemudian mempraktekkan tendangannya. Yang jadi kiper adalah pelawak dan presenter Ucok Baba. "Hati-hati Cok, waktu latihan kaca-kaca pada pecah karena tendangan Asimo kenceng banget," kata Dik. Yang ada Ucok bingung dan begitu Asimo menendang bol Ucok kabur menghindar :)

Eh, tau nggak ternyata Ucok Baba kalah tinggi dari Asimo, cuma sepinggang.

Asimo juga menunjukkan mengajak beberapa anak-anak menari. Ia juga menunjukkan kemampuannya berlari. "Adik-adik Asimo bisa berlari 6 kilometer per jam lho," terang Dik Doank.

Aksi setengah jam yang ditampilkan Asimo benar-benar membuat histeris anak-anak di KJD. "Ayah, aku mau dong dibeliin Asimo," kata anak saya yang kebetulan ikut serta. Waduh... :)

Ahora también puede leerse -y comentarse- en el Sitio de Ciencia-Ficción. Todo una hazaña para este pequeñajo.

Y, hablando del auténtico Asimo, el de nuestro tiempo presente; no os perdáis en este vídeo una de sus nuevas aficiones...

Setelah sempat batal. robot Honda Asimo akhirnya jadi juga mampir ke Kandang Jurank Doank, (KJD), sekolah alam yang dikelola oleh presenter Dik Doank.

Asimo sebenarnya dijadwalkan sekitar 2 pekan lalu tapi lantaran ada masalah "surat-menyurat" (halah...). Tapi akhinya kunjungan ke KJD jadi juga hari Minggu besok, 7 Juli 2008, pukul 10 s/d selesai.

Asimo dibawa PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) sebagai bintang di The 16th Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) 2008, 11–20 Juli mendatang.

Ini merupakan kehadiran kedua Asimo di Indonesia setelah Gaikindo Auto Expo ke-12 Juli 2003 lalu.

Asimo, kependekan dari (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility), didesain untuk membantu pekerjaan manusia dan suatu saat mengasuh orang tua dan penyandang cacat di rumah.

Asimo merupakan robot humanoid yang sanggup berjalan dengan dua kaki. Pertama dilahirkan tahun 2000. Sampai saat ini robot tersebut telah mampu menari, menyajikan teh, dan melakukan komunikasi sederhana.

Ini jadi kesempatan langka bagi anak-anak Indonesia untuk menyaksikan langsung robot pintar ini. Kalau nggak bisa datang ke KJD, Anda bisa kunjungii booth Honda di Ruang Cendrawasih pada IIMS 2008.

As we all know, technology is getting crazy. They've got robots for everything now. The worst part is, no one knows how they work, not even scientists. Or other robots. That's right, robots don't understand themselves. And if I've learned anything about psychology from the movies, it's that if you don't understand yourself, you'll probably go berserk and destroy pretty much everything you see. That and it's completely natural for me to want to kill my dad and freak my mom. Not that I want to do that, but I'm just saying if I did I wouldn't be weird.

Anyway, my point is most robots don't have moms and dads to want to freak/kill, which makes them even more dangerous somehow. When the uprising comes, they might even think you're their mom and try to make robosex with you. I'll be the first to tell you, robosex aint like normal sex. Well, it's the same basic premise but with more large metal pistons and confusing beeping noises. Check out this video for more info.

Now let me hit you up with some facts. Fact: all robots have two functions: hump and destroy. Other Fact: everything electrical is a possible robot. When the uprising comes, you're not just in danger from walking robots with guns, like in the movies. In real life your laptop will also try to kill you. So will your refrigerator. It's gonna be bad.

When they take over, you're gonna want to be prepared. For this very reason, I am going to prepare you. Hard.

Here are the top three and a half ways to prepare for a robot apocalypse. You'll thank me when you're about to get slammed by some kind of hyper-evolved Roomba.

1. Prepare to die.

This one's pretty depressing, but the most likely. Seriously, you'll have slim chances of survival in most robot apocalypse scenarios, so I'd say the best course of action is to just get your affairs in order and be ready to die at the hands of something with a hard drive. If you're feeling creative, find a way to blow yourself up after you die to take out some robots with you. It's probably useless, though ,because there are probably nano-bots in your veins now, plotting your demise.

2. Prepare to Run Away and Hide

If you don't feel like dying you can always run away. Obviously, space would be the best place to hide, because it's really big, but you gotta think that if you can get to space, so can the robots. We still don't know whether they'll seek to enslave humans or just eradicate our species, so a space escape could be a good bet. If they're just looking for a slave or a body to harvest like in the Matrix, they probably won't follow you to space. If they want to kill you, they'll just do it with a laser. I'd say go to space now and wait. Everyone else will think you're crazy, but they'll be looking pretty dumb when you using a high powered telescope from space to view their mangled corpses.

If you're a really poor person and can't get to space, I'd recommend making a robot costume. When the uprising comes, that might buy you a few nanoseconds before their teraflop processors analyze you, recognize you as a human in disguise, and rape/murder you. It's like I've always said, sometimes the best defense is a good robot costume.

3. Prepare to Fight Back

If you plan to fight the robots, you've got some balls. Congratulations. Now cut off your balls, they're unnecessary because you'll never have sex again because all the humans are dead. Just kidding. You can keep your balls. Maybe.

If you're going to fight, conventional weapons won't work. I suggest an EMP device. It sends out an electro magnetic pulse that shuts down electric things. I think there was one in Ocean's Eleven. Unfortunately, these are rare and big and expensive. Plus, chances are the robots destroyed them all prior to the uprising. If you can get your hands on one now, do it. It'll be worth it later, I promise.

So use that EMP thing and that should stop them. Unless the EMP is in on the robot plot, which it very likely is. In that case, having it in your home is dangerous. You should probably destroy it.

Since that doesn't work, you're clearly gonna need another plan. Luckily, I have one for you. You get a bonus way to prepare.

3.5. Prepare to Become a Cyborg Messiah

The best way to survive is to combine your living body brain with robotic parts. You could become the human-robot hybrid messiah that will start the revolution. In this case, they will not kill you. You will be their god. It would mean sacrificing the human race, but if you had enough robot parts, the robosex might actually be enjoyable, and you could have it with pretty much any robot you wanted. Later, if you felt like it, you could probably rise up against the robots and claim Earth for the humans and second generation cyborgs, but I don't really see the point if the robosex is good enough.
Overall, this plan is genius, but kind of tough to pull off. The real trick is finding a doctor/enigineer who will do it now and do it right.

So, that's pretty much it. Do what you will. Any of the plans are good, because I've researched them so heavily. Take your pick and see what happens. Keep in mind, though, that the coming apocalypse could happen any time, so don't waste any time. I'd start calling around to doctors and engineers immediately. Right now, I'd recommend calling the Robo-Pope for advice.

En hommage à Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Stanley Kubrick et Sir Arthur C. Clark pour les oeuvres d'anticipation.

Voiture Autonome pour le concours du DARPA

Main Bionique toujours du DARPA

Une autre petit main

L'exosquelette pour porter de lourdes charges par Berkeley Bionics

J'apprends à marcher

J'apprends à monter aux arbres

J'apprends à nager comme un poisson, pratique pour un sous-marin silencieux et indétectable

J'apprends à ramper comme un serpent

J'apprends à me reconstruire, comme disait mon psy

Le plus célèbre robot, après Numéro 5 évidemment, ASIMO de Honda:

Le robot à apparence humaine: une répliquante digne de Blade Runner

et en chef d'orchestre?

Et pour finir, de l'anticipation pure:

En un mot comme en cent: sachant que la majorité des crédits sont militaires, "Ayez Confiance!"

N'hésitez pas à laisser des commentaires ci-dessous, nul besoin d'être enregistré pour cela.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is ASIMO.

Created by Honda, ASIMO is the best robot out there, literally. And lately, one of them has been hanging out at Disneyland for people to meet. The four-foot-three-inch robot is so advanced that he can even run, up to a speed of two miles per hour. Running is a very hard task for a robot (I know plenty of humans who struggle with it too.) But his talents don't end with sprinting--he also directed the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in May.

Here's a short video of him walking. You have to admit you can't help but think he's cute, even for a heap of metal... and a little bit of Disney magic.

But I challenge you not to be moved by the sight of ASIMO conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in playing "The Impossible Dream"!

In steps Honda for the solution to all our problems:

OK, so it's wooden as hell and I'm not entirely sure that the orchestra isn't just ignoring the robot, but the idea is cute. Our conductor wiggles and grinds a lot more than this though, so I need to put in a request to Honda for a robot with more dance moves. And crazy hair, all conductors must have weird hair.

I'd like to know if it's radio controlled or pre-programmed. Radio controlled would make more sense for conducting, I guess.

I'd love to see 100 orchestras playing the same piece, each with a pre-programmed robot conducting, so they're all playing the same thing at exactly the same time.

**Update**

The robot is programmed from a real conductor doing the piece, using movement trackers. That's a bit disappointing. It'd be amazing if the robot could read any score and conduct from that, not just repeating human movements.

We've come a long way, baby.

.el sway

The Honda Asimo, which we've previously condemned being oppressively stupid looking has secured its title, but with class. It gets on stage, looking like it's about to drop a load right there, and then proceeds to leading the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to perform. The facial movements and slight hand movements are very impressive, and so far we haven't been able to see the Flame accomplish the same things.

On April 23, ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility), a robot built by Honda, conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Some hailed this as an unprecedented achievement in advancement of robotics. Others complained that while the robot's tempo was flawless, it was unable to convey the 'feel' of the music to the musicians.

A few notes.

First, I don't know much about symphony, and I certainly don't comprehend the intricacies of conducting one. But I have gone to many symphonies in my life, and I can honestly say that I have never seen any of the musicians look up at the conductor - ever! They are all looking at their music sheets. I've always wondered what the conductor really does, and how it benefits the musicians. If he controls the tempo and the feel of the music, how is he accomplishing it if the musicians don't ever look at him? Can someone leave me a comment and educate me?

Second, it is perhaps the height of irony that a robot - made by a Japanese car company and having replaced a human - was permitted to conduct the Detroit Symphony. Does anyone else see the irony in that? This could be the latest ploy by the Japanese to take jobs away from Americans. I bet it doesn't even belong to a union!

Third, has anyone explored the possibility that ASIMO was actually hypnotizing the audience by planting a subliminal message in their psyche to abandon their American-made cars and buy Japanese? The Japanese can be quite tricky people, you know.

Finally, waving a baton in the air is easy. How about teaching this robot to change my kid's dirty diaper at 2:00 am. That . . . I would pay (lots of ) money for.

Ya lo dijo BMW en un anuncio, "Sueños + Tecnología = Realidad", y así ha sido en este mundo de la robótica. Aun estamos lejos de tener los amigos que arriba comentamos, pero desde 1986, HONDA trabaja en un proyecto que se encuentra en un estado bastante avanzado. El proyecto ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Movility), un gracioso humanoide de 130cm de altura y 43 Kg de peso que es capaz de subir escaleras, caminar a una velocidad de 2,7 Km/h, correr a 6 Km/h y coger objetos de hasta medio kilo.

El desarrollo de este proyecto ha pasado por varias fases. Los primeros prototipos simularon el aprendizaje de un bebe al caminar. El primero de ellos, el E0, consiguió dar unos lentos pasitos, de unos 5s de duración entre ellos, que produjeron el desarrollo de su hermano, el E1. Este modelo fue capaz de andar a velocidades de 0,25 Km/h y distinguir entre el movimiento de ambos pies.

A este le sucedieron el E2 y el E3, que aumentaron su velocidad a 1,2 y 3 Km/h respectivamente.

Los siguientes modelos se centraron en perfeccionar la manera de caminar de los prototipos mediante el balanceo de su cuerpo y hacerles capaces de superar obstáculos sencillos, permitiéndoles así subir y bajar escaleras. Los prototipos desarrollados fueron el E4, E5 y E6, los cuales aumentaron la velocidad hasta los 4,7 Km/h y a partir del E5, fueron completamente autónomos. Todo este trabajo fue llevado a cabo entre los años 1986 y 1993 y los ingenieros de HONDA tenía un bebe de 7 años, al cual había que empezar a presentar en sociedad.

Para ello empezaron a humanizar a sus prototipos. El P1, un gigante de 191 cm y 180 Kg de peso fue el primer prototipo que tenia brazos, cuerpo y era capaz de interactuar con interruptores y pomos, coger objetos, etc..., aunque ese mismo año su diseño se limo y acicalo hasta convertirse en el P2, un robot con las dimensiones de un ser humano (unos 182 cm de altura) y completamente autónomo, pero que podría preocupar a cualquier dueño con sus 210 Kg de peso.

El problema se soluciono parcialmente con el siguiente diseño, el P3, que media 160 cm y pesaba 130Kg. El primer prototipo que dejaba intuir la línea de ASIMO y que se distinguió por tener un diseño "simpático", pensado para atraer al público.

Así llegamos al primer modelo de ASIMO, presentado en el 2000, el cual había rebajado su peso hasta los 52 Kg, con una altura final de 120 cm y capaz de moverse a 1,6 Km/h. Los siguientes prototipos han aumentado la autonomía del ASIMO, de 30 min del modelo del 2000 a las casi 2 horas del modelo presentado en el 2004.

El ultimo diseño presentado es el del 2005, que aumenta el peso a 54 Kg, la estatura hasta 130 cm. Su aspecto es el de un niño pequeño de grandes ojos y cara sonriente, capaz de caminar a una velocidad de 2,7 Km/h, correr a 6 Km/h y hasta de dirigir a la Orquesta Sinfónica de Detroit.

Pero no todo son robots humanoides, en Boston Dynamics están trabajando en el Big Dog. Un prototipo que recibe financiación del Departamento de Defensa de los EEUU y que simula el movimiento de un cuadrúpedo por terrenos muy complicados, capaz de mantener el equilibrio con hielo, golpes, etc... y de transportar hasta el 150% de su peso. El diseño es bastante feucho y hace un ruidito muy desagradable, pero da bastante que pensar su uso para aplicaciones militares.

Aun está un poco fuera del bolsillo común el permitirse un amigo robot, HONDA pide unos 150.000 $ al mes por alquilar un ASIMO, así que nuestro compañerete Nº5 tendrá que esperar unos añitos.

By Cero Absoluto 

You may think you know about walking robots, but the flame will change anything you ever thought. It is trained to walk and variant speeds exactly like a human and is even being used to diagnose people with walking disabilities. It uses the un-robot-like maneuver of falling every time it steps and can catch itself consistently. The Flame is considered the best walking robot of the current time, and definitely coolest looking blue flaming head. The main competitor is , unlike the flame, commercialized and is known as the Honda Asimo and looks like a cross between a drunk astronaut and a steroid-using kid looking for his mother.

Um fato muito interessante ocorreu nos Estados Unidos. Pela primeira vez um robô regeu uma orquestra sinfônica. Músicos e amantes da música aplaudiram sem parar o pequeno autômato, do projeto Asimo (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility), da Honda, que dirigiu a orquestra sinfônica de Detroit em uma versão de "L'impossible rêve", na primeira parte de um concerto privado com o violoncelista Yo-Yo Ma. O desafio não era apenas dirigir uma orquestra, mas uma obra ao vivo, algo que um robô nunca havia feito antes.

"Olá a todo mundo", disse Asimo à audiência e depois cumprimentou a orquestra.

A platéia ficou entusiasmada, em Detroit. "É fascinante de ver. A tecnologia é surpreendente", afirmou trombonista Randall Hawes, há 22 anos músico da orquestra. "Fiquei impressionado de ver como sua atitude era natural quando ele apareceu e quanto ele estava imóvel".

Para os músicos, o ponto fraco do robô é não reagir aos movimentos dos músicos.

Ainda assim, um deles diz não acreditar que o pequeno robô esteja, algum dia, em condições de substituir um regente em carne e osso. "Nós reagimos em relação a ele, mas ele não reage em relação a nós", comentou.

"Era a única que estava faltando. Nós sabíamos quando ele ia parar e, então, paramos ao mesmo tempo que ele".

A orquestra sinfônica convidou o robô Asimo, que pertence à geração mais avançada de andróides, tem maior capacidade de movimento que outros robôs de sua geração, pode andar, subir escadas e movimentar suas articulações, depois que a Honda doou US$ 1 milhão para uma fundação que se dedica a despertar o interesse das crianças dos bairros mais pobres de Detroit para a música. A Honda possui 25 robôs Asimo.

Muitas curiosidades sobre robôs vêm por ai...

Por: Luxo

DETROIT - The lights dimmed, the sold-out hall grew hushed and out walked the conductor — shiny, white and 4 feet, 3 inches tall.

ASIMO, a robot designed by Honda Motor Co., met its latest challenge Tuesday evening: Conducting the Detroit Symphony in a performance of "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha."

"Hello, everyone," ASIMO said to the audience in a childlike voice, then waved to the orchestra.

As it conducted, it perfectly mimicked the actions of a conductor, nodding its head at various sections and gesturing with one or both hands. ASIMO took a final bow to enthusiastic shouts from the audience.

"It is absolutely thrilling to perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. This is a magnificent concert hall," ASIMO said.

The Takeover continues.  We already control the information, and the the energy, and the dumptrucks, now all your symphonies are belong to us as well.

]]> http://midnightramblin.wordpress.com/?p=21 Mon, 19 May 2008 05:20:50 +0000 mclassen http://midnightramblin.wordpress.com/?p=21 HILLARY AND THE DISTILLERY

Hillary Clinton seems to be finding ways to kick back and relax while on the campaign trail. She's found ways to put down beer, do shots of Crown Royal and now she's stopped off to see how Maker's Mark is made. I'll give her credit she has taste. She also seems to be having a bit of fun and finding moments to relax while taking her message around the country. Actually if I had to put with some of the crap people were writing about me I'd find a way to down the occassional cocktail too. Clinton stopped by to see how the Maker's Mark process worked and delivered a message to some folks that were parked on the grass to see her. "All those people on TV who are telling you and everybody else that this race is over and I should just be graceful and say, 'Oh it's over' even though I've won more votes - those are all people who have a job," Clinton told supporters picnicking in the gardens of the distillery. "Those are all people who have health care. Those are all people who can afford to send their kids to college. Those are all people who can pay whatever is charged at the gas pump. They're not the people I'm running to be a champion for." She reminds me of Tim Allen in Galaxyquest: Never give up, Never surrender. Hopefully she'll be appearing at a local pub near me so I can go knock a couple back with Hillary. Maybe her husband will tag along and we can go out back and not inhale. 

FLORIDA SCHOOL REFUTES FIRING TEACHER FOR WIZARDRY

On May 5th, it was reported that Jim Piculas had been fired for making a toothpick disappear and reappear. According to him he received a phone call saying "We've got a problem, Wizardry," and was told he couldn't have any more substitute teacher assignments. He was fired. Now the Land o lakes school board is trying to deperately refute Piculas' claim. It's no wonder. The have received as many as 50 phone calls and emails a day from across the country, angry at this rather narrow perspective on performing a trick in front of kids. Now that they nationally look like idiots, they've changed their tune. According to the school and Marge Whaley, a member of the school board, the decision was based on complaints that they had about Piculas using profane language, couldn't control the class and putting a student in charge. None of the complaining parents have come forward.

 PLANE LANDS ON TOP OF ANOTHER

Land, land, where to land. A couple of pilots got their messages mixed up in Roanoake, VA yesterday when they were figuring out who had the runway. Air traffic control must have been sleeping through this one. Apparently they both thought that the runway was his and just as the inbound aircraft was about to touch down the outbound plane pulled under it. The move was perfectly timed. The first aircraft landed right on top of the other, lodging its propeller into the lower fuselage and coming to a halt directly on the other's roof. Fortunately nobody was injured. These were pilots with guardian angels on their shoulders. The video below shows the planes after landing. Check it out.