Robots, R&D & Kajita: A peep into the future

Shuuji Kajita's first love is robotics, and now its become his profession too. This senior researcher is part of the Humanoid Research Group and works for the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. His passion is biped locomotion; in layman's terms he is obsessed with making robots walk.

Kajita chose his profession not on a chance encounter, but developed his childhood interest, combined with passion and a plan.
During his childhood, when other kids his age were playing with toys, Kajita was making his own. He started building models of cars and ships and then shifted to making robots. His first robot was a model of a frog. He remembers it as not being that much of a success but quips that at least he had made something. At that time he was in primary school.

"I was inspired by cartoons, cartoons of robots like Astro Boy," says the 49-year-old.

The most important event that changed his life was the Apollo project when the United States sent a man to the moon. He remembers, "I was nine years old and I was awed by this achievement. At that time every kid had an Apollo rocket. Some of my friends wanted to become astronauts."

So what stopped Kajita He admits, "I wasn't good at gymnastics; I knew that to become an astronaut one must not only be very smart but also very strong. So rather than become an astronaut I wanted to become a scientist to help launch rockets."

But there seems hardly any link between astronomy and robotics. From wanting to pursue astronomy how did he wind up in robotics Around the same time the big news in Japan was of a professor who had built the first humanoid robot. "Professor Kato, he was a hero to me, I changed my subject from rockets to robots," says Kajita.

He also fondly remembers many of the professors in his university who helped him get started in his research in robotics.
His area of research delving in humanoid robots is not uncommon. And we have Hollywood to thank for that. The concept of robots imitating and looking like human beings does not take us by surprise.

However, what makes the real humanoid robots different from the ones in reel life is that there is no chance of them getting brainwashed into killing humans and taking over the planet.

"We aren't trying to build a terminator robot. Our goal is to build a humanoid robot which can help people in their daily lives. I must say it will not be in the near future but twenty years from now a humanoid robot could help out at your home and be of use, especially for handicapped or elderly people".

Kajita feels that humanoid robots can attract the ordinary people. Many robots are used to assist with factory work and sometimes in the medical profession but ordinary people may not be aware of such advanced technology. Humanoid robots can also bridge the ignorance gap as well as inspire the public.

While the special feature of the humanoid robot is its ability to look like a real live human being complete from looks to size, it is far from duplicating the way human beings function.

Humanoid robots
Making a machine to look like a human being is not difficult but making a computer programme which will make a robot behave like a human being is very difficult. Humanoid robots are no different from other robots. They possess the core requirements such as actuators, motors, computers and sensors. What separates them from other robots is simply their outer physical appearance.

The product of Kajita's work, HRP-4C, built for the entertainment sector had received a lot of coverage.

His latest work involved in trying to make the robot dance with a live performer at a stage show for three minutes. The robot on whom research is still being performed is very expensive and currently not on the market for sale. Kajita is currently working on enhancement of HRP-4C.

He says that he is "Working on the walking control of HRP-4C. Right now she can just walk indoors in a building. She still can't walk outside. I am developing software to let her walk outside".

Kajita constantly emphasises on how important the field of mathematics is to the field of robotics. Just focusing on how to make the robot work took him twenty five years of research which required mathematical research and computer programming.

"You can walk very easily, and so can I, but to make a robot walk you need mathematics so please don't say that mathematics is terrible," he adds.

While today robots are being used for entertainment, Kajita envisions robots becoming a part of the daily lives of people in the future. So when asked whether he sees every house in the future having a robot he smiles and says, "I think so, we are working in that direction."

That leaves us with two questions. First, will robots ever replace human beings entirely Kajita laughs, "Working with HRP-4C I realise that real women are great, beautiful, and how they manage to do everything. Not only women, but how great a real human being is. I think twenty years from now humanoid robots will witness progress but I can hardly imagine humanoid robots replacing human beings. Robots will be just a part of our lives".

The next query follows, Will robots take over the future You can't blame one for pondering over this question because it is the common outline of every science fiction Hollywood movie involving robots. Kajita is reassuring when he says, "Please don't worry about that. No researcher can imagine that. Current robot technology is very poor!"