Softbank to buy $2.8-billion stake in Norway robotics firm

TOKYO - Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group will buy a 40 percent stake in Norwegian robotics company AutoStore in a deal worth $2.8 billion, the two firms said.

The deal is the latest bet by SoftBank, which has spent heavily on some of the tech world's hottest start-ups and biggest names, ranging from artificial intelligence to biotech companies.

The deal values AutoStore, which develops warehouse automation technology, at $7.7 billion, according to a statement released by the pair on Monday.

Known for its cuboid systems that reduce the space needed to store goods, AutoStore says it has deployed 20,000 robots across 35 countries and that its clients include Puma and Siemens.

"We view AutoStore as a foundational technology that enables rapid and cost-effective logistics for companies around the globe," said SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.

The companies will work together to "aggressively expand across end markets and geographies," he added.

Son has in the past battled critics of his commitment to sometimes troubled start-ups, and brushed aside doubts over a massive asset-sale program.

Karl Johan Lier, Autostore's president and CEO, said his company hoped to grow in the Asia-Pacific market with Softbank's support.

US investment firm Thomas H. Lee Partners will remain the majority shareholder in Autostore even after the Softbank deal, which is expected to be finalized in April.

Agence France-Presse

Robochef: Sony cooks up new AI unit for food revolution

TOKYO - Cooking robots and tastier recipes: Japanese electronics giant Sony on Wednesday launched a new artificial intelligence unit they hope will change the way we cook and eat.

The new research arm, Sony AI, will operate in Japan, Europe and the United States and also focus on the traditional areas of gaming, imaging and sensor equipment, as well as "gastronomy".

The firm that produced the PlayStation franchise and the "Spider-man" movie series is the latest multinational tech company wanting a piece of the pie in the food business, where data are increasingly driving new dishes to pique the palate.

"AI and robotics will not replace chefs. We are aiming to offer new tools to expand their creativity with AI and robotics," Sony spokesman Shinichi Tobe told AFP.

"The field of food requires a study of molecular structures. By using AI and its analytical capacity, we can create new things," Tobe said.

"It involves taste, but also aroma. Through sensing technologies, we can perhaps create new dishes that will please the human sense of taste," he said.

The Tokyo-based gadget-and-entertainment conglomerate is not the only tech company tapping into this seam.

IBM earlier this year teamed up with seasoning maker McCormick to use artificial intelligence in flavor and food product development.

In the future, Sony foresees the creation of a robotic kitchen to help elderly people make meals at home, but without the use of open flames.

It may also result in the creation of a restaurant where robots cook in front of guests.

"There might be ways of cooking that can only be done by robotics. It might be about temperature control. Maybe about precise timings of when or where to apply heat," Tobe said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Amazon says drone deliveries coming 'within months'

LAS VEGAS -- Amazon said Wednesday it expects to begin large-scale deliveries by drone in the coming months as it unveiled its newest design for its "Prime Air" fleet.

Jeff Wilke, head of Amazon's consumer operations, told the company's Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space conference in Las Vegas that drones would play a role in ramping up efforts to shorten delivery times for many items to just 1 day for Amazon Prime members.

"We've been hard at work building fully electric drones that can fly up to 15 miles (25 kilometers) and deliver packages under 5 pounds (2.3 kilos) to customers in less than 30 minutes," Wilke said in a blog post.

"And, with the help of our world-class fulfillment and delivery network, we expect to scale Prime Air both quickly and efficiently, delivering packages via drone to customers within months."

Amazon offered no details about where or when the drone deliveries would be operational. 

The company conducted its first test of drone deliveries in 2016 in Britain. At the time, it said US regulations made it harder to use drones for delivery in the United States.

Wilke said Wednesday that Amazon has invested to make its delivery drones safer and more efficient.

"It can do vertical takeoffs and landings -- like a helicopter," he said. "And it's efficient and aerodynamic -- like an airplane. It also easily transitions between these two modes, from vertical-mode to airplane mode, and back to vertical mode."

The new drones are also designed to be stable even in gusty wind conditions, Wilke added.

"We know customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if they know the system is incredibly safe," he said. 

"So we're building a drone that isn't just safe, but independently safe, using the latest artificial intelligence technologies."

Amazon said earlier this year it would speed up its free delivery for its Prime subscribers, currently 2 days for most items, to a single day, with North American customers the first to benefit.

It said it would spend some $800 million in the current quarter in the effort to shorten delivery times. It is also hiring more drivers and offering employees an opportunity to launch their own delivery enterprise with a subsidy from Amazon.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Breadmaking robot startup eyes fresh connections

LAS VEGAS -- The robot breadmaker came to Las Vegas this week, aiming to bring some freshness to a sector that may be ready for disruption.

Wilkinson Baking Company unveiled its BreadBot at the Consumer Electronics Show, a machine that mixes and bakes up to 235 loaves a day.

BreadBot can lower costs and produce fresher breads than are available in most American supermarkets, chief executive Randall Wilkinson said.

"Consumers want the freshest thing possible, but when they go into the store they don't know when that bread was baked," said Wilkinson, a member of the family-owned firm in Walla Walla, Washington.

Wilkinson said the machine, which takes up as much room as a mid-sized car, has more automation technology than bread factories, and can produce at a far lower cost.

He noted that using in-store robotic machines could eliminate the need for truck delivery, which accounts for as much as 45 percent of the cost of most bread.

This means profits could get a rise.

The company is in talks with major supermarket chains and also plans to deliver the robots to the US military for making buns on carrier fleets, Wilkinson said.

The bread robot -- which was at a startup showcase Sunday and will be on the show floor from Tuesday -- joins a line of devices aimed at disrupting the food industry, including pizza-making robots and robotic baristas.

The current generation of BreadBot is designed for standard kinds of loaves but Wilkinson said the robots can be adapted for customized breads, even French baguettes.

"At some point you will be able to order a special loaf on your phone -- you can add sunflower seeds, use less salt or whatever -- and pick it up in an hour," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

SoftBank alum unveils 'affectionate' companion robot in Japan

TOKYO - Japanese startup Groove X, founded by an alumni of SoftBank Group Corp's robotics unit, unveiled its first creation on Tuesday - a companion robot designed to make users happy.

The Lovot, an amalgam of "love" and "robot", cannot help with the housework but it will "draw out your ability to love," Groove X founder and CEO Kaname Hayashi told reporters at the launch in Tokyo.

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to interact with its surroundings, the wheeled machine resembles a penguin with cartoonish human eyes, has interchangeable outfits and communicates in squeaks.

It is designed to mimic affection for users who show it kindness by becoming warm to the touch, going to "sleep" when it's cuddled or following users when called.

Its practical uses are limited to simple tasks like baby monitoring or watching over the house via a camera that users can access through a mobile app while they are out.

While Japan is already a leading manufacturer of industrial robots, Groove X is trying to expand the fledgling market for household robots. It has raised 8 billion yen ($71.1 million) from investors including a Toyota Motor Corp-backed fund, chat app operator Line Corp and the Japanese government.

The Lovot will compete with Sony Corp's AI-powered robot dog Aibo, revived last year more than a decade after it ceased production.

Hayashi worked on SoftBank's humanoid Pepper robot, which can be found greeting customers in shops and restaurants across Japan but has been a flop with households 3 years after its launch.

SoftBank has recently increased its focus on more practical robots, last month launching the Whiz autonomous cleaning machine which uses technology from portfolio company US-based Brain Corp.

As with Pepper, Lovot's uptake is likely to be hampered by its hefty price tag of 349,000 yen ($3,100) before tax with ongoing subscription fees. Units will start shipping in late 2019.

Japan ranks lowest among the G7 highly industrialised nations in the United Nations annual happiness ranking. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

BPO workers bet on 'human touch' to ride automation wave

MANILA - Business process outsourcing workers said they were betting on the "human touch" to keep their jobs, as the industry looks towards artificial intelligence.

The industry that employs roughly 1.15 million people expects that the shift to AI for mechanical tasks had the potential to displace 40,000 low-skilled workers while creating opportunities for nearly 700,000 with higher skills.

Potential job losses are a "myth" as companies that outsource operations develop "hybrid digital and live interaction agents," said SITEL chief operating officer Craig Reines.

 Michael Noche, a 32-year-old training manager with Ibex Global, said he was "not threatened at all" by the looming automation wave.

"AI might have its own advantages but still we will not be able to deny the fact that human talent is something a lot more deeper and is indispensable," Noche told ABS-CBN News.

Call center supervisor Keith Rosales is similarly optimistic.

"Having AI do all these in the future is not possible. Human touch would always be needed when it comes to customer service," Rosales told ABS-CBN News.

"Customers still like to speak to a live agent instead of having to deal with a computer or robot. My company is trying to introduce self-service channels but so far, customers still rather call the hotline with live agents because it is more personalized," he said.

English proficiency and a service-oriented culture give Filipino BPO workers an edge over other outsourcing hubs said SITEL's Reines.

"There's no such thing as singularity replacement of human capability but it's rather how do we manage it," said Gilbert Camasura, president of recruitment firm Asia Select.

With the advent of automation, team supervisor Kevin Paolo dela Cruz looks forward to more years in BPO.

"I feel excited about it, I am working for a company with a goal of being innovative, to put the business to the next level, and it will help a lot of people who's looking for a decent, well compensated job," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Asus unveils robot Zenbo at Computex

TAIPEI -- Computex, the largest tech expo in Asia, is a stage for some of the biggest product launches and unveilings by Asian electronics companies.

This year’s Computex did not disappoint, with Taiwanese giant Asus announcing a major foray into robotics with the unveiling of a personal robot, dubbed the Zenbo.

Zenbo’s launch was a big deal. Every tech journalist at Computex was expecting new phones, tablets, wearables and VR kits. But the a robot like Zenbo? No one saw that coming.

Zenbo kinda looks like something from a Pixar design factory. If Wall-E and Eve decided to have kids, Zenbo would probably look like one of the offspring. It’s small, it’s cute, it rolls on wheels, and has got that non-threatening interface that old folks and little kids would love.

Asus dubs the Zenbo as a smart assistant. You communicate with the Zenbo using voice commands instead of a remote. According to the short demo, Zenbo can help out in the kitchen with a recipe, help your kids with their homework, and even dial an emergency number if an accident happens inside your home.

It can also read a bedtime story to your kids, play music, take photos and video, and even control your smart home and smart appliances.


You could think of it as a personal butler like, or an electronic yaya. While it’s not exactly on the same level yet of the positronic Andrew in Robin William’s film “Bicentennial Man,” the Zenbo presents a huge leap in the direction of smart robotic assistants. Why? Because you don’t have to sell your kidney to buy one.

Asus chairman Jonney Shih said that their goal was to enable robotic computing for every household. With a target price of US$599, or roughly around P28,000, Asus may have just found the sweet spot for personal robots. If Asus manages to meet this target price, this will put Zenbo’s cost lower than a Samsung Galaxy S7 or an iPhone 6S Plus. It’s not hard to imagine Zenbos appearing in the homes of many gadget aficionados based on that price point.

I am actually a bit skeptical about that target price, as similar robots cost much much more. Softbank’s Pepper robot sells for around US$1,900. But if there’s one company that can develop and sell affordable robots, it’s probably Asus.

Asus created an entirely new category of computers when it introduced the EeePC way back in 2007. This little laptop ushered in the world of cheap portable computers called netbooks. The Taiwanese company did this again in 2011 when it launched the Eeepad Transformer, which created a category of affordable laptop-tablet hybrids.

Hopefully, Asus can leverage its manufacturing and engineering expertise and make the Zenbo a truly affordable home robot.

Gadget geeks who want to get their hands on the Zenbo, however, will have to wait a little longer. Asus has not yet announced a launch date for the Zenbo.

From the demo I saw at Computex, it was also pretty obvious that Zenbo wasn’t ready for primetime. But if you’re a developer, you’re in luck because Asus welcomes developers who want to create new apps and capabilities for their home robot.

Will Zenbo usher in a new era of home robots? Many gadget aficionados certainly hope so.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: Restaurant in China employs robots as servers

Robots have invaded a restaurant in China replacing some of its human servers.

The bots bring dishes to customers' tables according to pre-defined orders and move along fixed paths.

But it seems technology is not ready to replace the human touch.

Managers said though the robots do the work of two people, they cannot respond to customers' requests which are still left for humans to do -- for now.

-Mornings @ ANC, April 19, 2016

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Here come the robots: Davos bosses brace for big tech shocks

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - Implantable mobile phones. 3D-printed organs for transplant. Clothes and reading-glasses connected to the Internet.

Such things may be science fiction today but they will be scientific fact by 2025 as the world enters an era of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and gene editing, according to executives surveyed by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Nearly half of those questioned also expect an artificial intelligence machine to be sitting on a corporate board of directors within the next decade.

Welcome to the next industrial revolution.

After steam, mass production and information technology, the so-called "fourth industrial revolution" will bring ever faster cycles of innovation, posing huge challenges to companies, workers, governments and societies alike.

The promise is cheaper goods and services, driving a new wave of economic growth. The threat is mass unemployment and a further breakdown of already strained trust between corporations and populations.

"There is an economic surplus that is going to be created as a result of this fourth industrial revolution," Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft, told the WEF's annual meeting in Davos on Wednesday.

"The question is how evenly will it be spread between countries, between people in different economic strata and also different parts of the economy."

Robots are already on the march, moving from factories into homes, hospitals, shops, restaurants and even war zones, while advances in areas like artificial neural networks are starting to blur the barriers between man and machine.

One of the most in-demand participants in Davos this year is not a central banker, CEO or politician but a prize-winning South Korean robot called HUBO, which is strutting its stuff amid a crowd of smartphone-clicking delegates.

But there are deep worries, as well as awe, at what technology can do.

A new report from UBS released in Davos predicts that extreme levels of automation and connectivity will worsen already deepening inequalities by widening the wealth gap between developed and developing economies.

“The fourth industrial revolution has potentially inverted the competitive advantage that emerging markets have had in the form of low-cost labor,” said Lutfey Siddiqi, global head of emerging markets for FX, rates and credit at UBS.

“It is likely, I would think, that it will exacerbate inequality if policy measures are not taken.”

An analysis of major economies by the Swiss bank concludes that Switzerland is the country best-placed to adapt to the new robot world, while Argentina ranks bottom.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

There will be winners and losers among companies, too, as new players move into established industries with disruptive new technologies.

That is something uppermost in the minds of Davos attendees such as General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who is confronting the threat of driverless cars - another science fiction that has become science fact - or bank boss Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase, facing competition from digital "fintech" start-ups.

Such innovations, coupled with the rise of robots in both the manufacturing and service sectors, could automate vast numbers of jobs. Oxford University researchers predicted in 2013, for example, that 47 percent of U.S. jobs were at risk.

Such fears about technology destroying jobs are not new. The economist John Maynard Keynes famously cried wolf in 1931, by issuing a warning of widespread "technological unemployment".

The question is whether this time will be different, given the speed to change and the fact that machines now offer brain as well as brawn, threatening professions previously seen as immune, such as entry-level journalism or routine financial analysis.

Pessimists fear this will hollow out middle-income, middle-class jobs on an unprecedented scale, with the WEF itself predicting that more than 5 million jobs could be lost in 15 major economies by 2020.

But ManpowerGroup CEO Jonas Prising is more upbeat for the long term. "If history is any indicator, we'll have more jobs being created in the end than are going to be destroyed," he said.

However, beyond the Davos talking-shop there are doubts about how well business leaders will actually plan for the future.

"When you have these very big levels of disruptive change you need some pretty serious thinking and action," said Ian Goldin, professor of globalization and development at Oxford University.

"But the CEO who really looks years ahead and looks at broader social issues is rare, even in Davos."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Self-healing robots take step towards disaster relief

PARIS, France - Scientists on Wednesday said they had created a small robot that can recover from damage, in a step towards machines that mimic the remarkable adaptive powers of humans and animals.

The feat could one day lead to first-responder robots which can cope with dangers that today would put them out of operation, they said.

"The idea is to have robots that can survive in hostile environments such as a Fukushima-type nuclear disaster," said Jean-Baptiste Mouret of the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris.

"If we send in robots, they have to be able to pursue their mission even if they are damaged, and not just come to a halt in the middle of a reactor," he told AFP.

The research, published in the journal Nature, is inspired by the learning abilities of the natural world.

If a dog hurts its paw, for instance, it will seek to move differently to avoid putting pressure on the painful wound.

The adaptive skill comes from experience -- from knowing how the body moves and exploring the options that are available.

This is what Mouret's team sought to replicate in a powerful computer programme to guide a six-legged 50-centimetre (20-inch) walking robot.

The core of the programme is to build a knowledge base for the robot of how it moves, and to assign to each of these movements a "value" as to how useful they could be in a crisis.

The "values" are rather like intuition.

In the case of the injured dog, the animal knows that to walk again, it has to learn how to shift its weight around. Behaviours such as sniffing or wagging its tail are rejected at this time because they will not help.

The "values" are then used to guide a learning algorithm, called Intelligent Trial and Error, that conducts experiments to see if compensatory behaviour will help the robot to continue its mission even when damaged.

Using it, the prototype robot found a way to keep walking after just a couple of minutes, even when two of its legs had been broken.

"If one behaviour doesn't work, the robot is smart enough to rule out that entire type of behaviour and try a new type," said Mouret's colleague, Antoine Cully.

"For example, if walking mostly on its hind legs does not work well, it will next try waking mostly on its front legs.

"What's surprising is how quickly it can learn a new way to walk. It's amazing to watch a robot go from crippled and flailing around to efficiently limping away in about two minutes."

The team also used the programme on a flexible robotic arm which was tasked with dropping a ball into a bin.

The limb swiftly learned ways of carrying on with its mission, even when several of its "joints" were broken.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Meet Nescafe's newest salesman in Japan - a robot named Pepper

TOKYO - Nestle SA will enlist a thousand humanoid robots to help sell its coffee makers at electronics stores across Japan, becoming the first corporate customer for the chatty, bug-eyed androids unveiled in June by tech conglomerate SoftBank Corp.

Nestle has maintained healthy growth in Japan while many of its big markets are slowing, crediting a tradition of trying out off-beat marketing tactics in what is a small but profitable territory for the world's biggest food group.

The waist-high robot, developed by a French company and manufactured in Taiwan, was touted by Japan's SoftBank as capable of learning and expressing human emotions, and of serving as a companion or guide in a country that faces chronic labor shortages.

Nestle said on Wednesday it would initially commission 20 of the robots, called Pepper, in December to interact with customers and promote its coffee machines. By the end of next year, the maker of Nescafe coffee and KitKat chocolate bars plans to have the robots working at 1,000 stores.

"We hope this new type of made-in-Japan customer service will take off around the world," Nestle Japan President Kohzoh Takaoka said in a statement.

Nestle did not say how much it was paying for Pepper, which SoftBank has said would retail for 198,000 yen ($1,830). The robot is already greeting customers at more than 70 SoftBank mobile phone stores in Japan.

Among Nestle's most successful Japan-only initiatives is the Nescafe Ambassador system, in which individuals stock coffee pods and collect money for them at their offices in exchange for free use of machines and other perks. Nestle wants half a million "ambassadors" by 2020 - nearly quadruple the number now as it expands into museums, beauty salons and even temples.

The Japanese unit has also developed hundreds of KitKat flavours including wasabi and green tea, and this year rolled out a KitKat that can be baked into cookies.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Japan androids take us closer to 'Blade Runner' future

TOKYO -- A future in which it is difficult to tell man and machine apart could soon become reality, scientists say, after recent robotic breakthroughs in Japan.

But as the once-fantastical idea of wise-cracking android sidekicks takes form in laboratories -- and the gap between humans and robots narrows -- society faces ethical and legal complications as yet undreamed of, they warn.

"Already computers have surpassed human ability," leading Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro told AFP. "Robots will be very clever soon."

Science fiction's rapid slide towards science fact owes much to the likes of Ishiguro, who has an android copy of himself that he sends on overseas business trips in his place.

"It saves me time," he smiled. "The upper torso and lower torso you can pack in two big suitcases. The head is very fragile -- it goes as carry-on baggage."

Robots already perform a wide variety of tasks in Japan: they cook noodles, help patients undergo physiotherapy and have been used in the clean-up after the 2011 nuclear meltdown at Fukushima.

South Korea deploys jellyfish-terminating robots, while a robot with artificial intelligence able to analyse market trends has become a company director in Hong Kong.

One day, predict future-gazers, robots will perform all kinds of household chores, monitor the sick, and even serve up cappuccinos.

Replicants

But will they look like us?

Ishiguro created his doppelgänger from powerful electronics, complex moving parts, silicone rubber and hair from his own scalp.

"If we have enough knowledge about humans, we can create more human-like robots," he said after unveiling last month what he claimed was the world's first news-reading android in Tokyo. "That knowledge usually comes from neuroscience or cognitive science.

"More important is robots and androids as a mirror to reflect humanity. Once we become friends, the boundary between human and robot disappears," added Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University.

The blurring of that line has long been a source of worry for humanity, as often depicted in popular culture.

The 1982 Hollywood cult film "Blade Runner," which is set in 2019, features genetically engineered robots called 'replicants' which are visually indistinguishable from humans, but physically superior and able to withstand pain.

The film's protagonist, played by Harrison Ford, is given the task of tracking down and killing replicants that have escaped and are living among us. His problem is knowing the difference.

More recently, Hollywood broached the possibility of falling in love with technology in the critically acclaimed movie "Her." Released in 2013 and set in the not too distant future, the film tells the story of an introverted loner, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who falls for an intelligent operating system that exists only as a female voice on his computer and mobile devices.

Today robots are still discernably robots, with many designed deliberately to look artificial -- Honda's ASIMO was introduced to much fanfare in 2000 as a multi-functional mobile assistant which resembles a shrunken spaceman.

A chatty humanoid called Pepper was unveiled recently by Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank, which claims it can understand people's emotions and "70-80 percent of spontaneous conversations."

Pepper, which will go on sale to the general public in February for $2,000, has humanoid features -- like a head and two arms -- but its white plastic body deliberately points up its artificiality.

Uncanny valley

Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori suggested that the more robots look like people, the more we find them creepy, a phenomenon he called the "uncanny valley."

Ishiguro's initial human android, based on his own daughter, reduced her to tears, but he insisted Mori's phenomenon no longer applied after perfecting the template.

"The first android's movement was jerky, like a zombie," said Ishiguro. "But we have overcome the uncanny valley."

Research by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) bears that out. They tested reactions to androids in hospitals with largely positive results.

"We used androids in sessions with children suffering from ASD (autism spectrum disorder)," said Yoshio Matsumoto, research leader in service robots at AIST. "Of 85 subjects, four said they thought the robots were scary."

Ishiguro foresees that just as younger people today are attached to their mobile phones -- in reality powerful computers that mediate much of their lives -- androids will one day become an indivisible part of our landscape.

"Everyone is going to have an android," he predicted. "Handicapped people need another body. We are going to have more choices."

He also believes the floodgates to deepening relationships with robots will open once Pepper goes on sale and people take 'him' into their hearts.

But, he says, that is where the moral problems will arise.

"As we become closer to androids, we could hesitate to pull the switch," he said. "Suppose you lost your daughter in a traffic accident, and I create her android. You will probably love the android, and accept it as a human.

"Suppose someone burgles your house and you kill them to protect the robot. What kind of discussion will the lawyers have in court?"

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Japan unveils 'world's first' android newscaster

TOKYO -- Japanese scientists on Tuesday unveiled what they said was the world's first news-reading android, eerily lifelike and possessing a sense of humor to match her perfect language skills.

The adolescent-looking Kodomoroid -- an amalgamation of the Japanese word "kodomo" (child) and "android" -- delivered news of an earthquake and an FBI raid to amazed reporters in Tokyo.

She even poked fun at her creator, telling leading robotics professor Hiroshi Ishiguro: "You're starting to look like a robot!"

The pitch-perfect Kodomoroid was flanked by a grown-up fellow robot, who caught stage fright and fluffed her lines when asked to introduce herself.

Otonaroid -- "otona" meaning adult -- excused herself after a quick reboot, saying: "I'm a little bit nervous."

Both androids will work at Tokyo's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, interacting with visitors to collect data for Ishiguro's studies into human reactions to the machines.

"We will have more and more robots in our lives in the future," Ishiguro told AFP. "You can take my androids on planes -- the torso in the suitcase and the head in carry-on."

Ishiguro has a humanoid version of himself which he sends overseas to give lectures.

"It cuts down on my business trips," he said. "Technical advances mean robots look and act more human, and that makes us think about our worth."

Otonaroid looked as if she could need rewiring before beginning her new role as the museum's science communicator, her lips out of sync and her neck movements symptomatic of a bad night's sleep.

But Ishiguro insisted both would prove invaluable to his continued research as museum visitors get to have conversations with the 'droids and operate them as extensions of their own body.

"This will give us important feedback as we explore the question of what is human," said the 50-year-old. "We want robots to become increasingly clever."

A chatty humanoid called Pepper designed by SoftBank as a household companion is set to go on sale for around $2,000 in Japan next year after a successful debut earlier this month.

"That's the same price as a laptop computer," said Ishiguro. "It's incredible."

As the line between humans and machines continued to blur, Ishiguro's mechanical newscaster performed tongue-twisters, to the amazement of their human counterparts.

"My dream is to have my own TV show in the future," Kodomoroid said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

NASA's next Mars rover will advance hunt for past life

WASHINGTON - The next robotic rover to explore Mars in 2020 should scour the surface of the red planet more closely than ever for signs of past life, a NASA science team said Tuesday.

The US space agency's science definition team (SDT) released a 154-page document containing its proposals for the next Mars rover, after five months of work.

The mission would use microscopic analysis for the first time, collect the first rock samples for possible return to Earth and test ways to use natural resources on site for a future human trip, it said.

The Mars 2020 mission would build on the work being done by NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring the red planet since August 2012 and has already found evidence of potentially habitable environments.

The mission would present "a major step toward seeking signs of life," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA headquarters.

The next step is for NASA to analyze the recommendations and issue a call for scientific instruments, which could include higher resolution imaging devices, microscopes, fine scale minerology, chemistry and organic carbon detection tools to scan for biosignatures on the surface of Mars.

"To combine this suite of instruments would be incredibly powerful," said Jack Mustard, SDT chair and professor of geological sciences at Brown University.

The rover would collect about 31 samples that might someday be returned to Earth, representing "a legacy for understanding the development of habitability on the planet," he told reporters.

The US space agency has not yet devised the technology to bring the cache back to Earth without disturbing its contents, and no plans have been set for any potential sample-return.

The next NASA mission to Mars is a November launch of MAVEN, an orbiter that will study how Mars interacted with the solar wind and lost its atmosphere.

The European Space Agency will follow in 2018 with its ExoMars rover.

John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science, said the 2020 Mars rover would get the US space agency to the next step in the "quest to answer the grand questions," before a planned human mission in the 2030s.

"Do we see any evidence of past life in those habitable environments?" he said, alluding to the aims of the future missions.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Makati schools dominate PH robotics contest

MANILA, Philippines – Four public high schools from Makati City dominated this year’s “Tagisang Robotics,” dubbed as the country’s first and only varsity-type robotics competition.

Benigno Aquino High School's Team Benigno Knights topped the elimination round with a 6-0 slate, which earned them the Best Team Award, medals and a trophy, a P100,000 cash prize and P30,000 for their coach, Edwin Engana.

Bangkal High School's Team Super Automated Mechanize Universal Electrobots or SAMUEL, Tibagan High School's Team Cybertron and Makati Science High School's Team MakSci Immortals, on the other hand, won as the Best Alliance and took home medals, trophies for their schools, a P150,000 cash prize and P10,000 for each of their coaches.

Malayan High School of Science's Team Sindak, meanwhile, was named Rookie of the Year after finishing with a 5-1 win-loss card. The team took home P50,000 and P10,000 for their coach Dhonny Bacuyag, as well as medals and a trophy.

Organized by the Science Education Institute (SEI) of the Department of Science and Technology and the Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center, Tagisang Robotics seeks to promote robotics to the youth and eventually encourage them to pursue studies and careers in science and engineering.

The varsity-type competition includes sports such as basketball and football, and involves the use of robots.

“So I encourage you to keep your heads up, because your journey is just starting. Be proud and optimistic for you are just scratching the surface of your potential as future professionals in the field of robotics,” SEI director Dr. Filma Brawner said in a press statement.

source: abs-cbnnews.com