Making the Future with Robotics

12 Feb 2008 Category: Japan, Product, Project

Making the Future with Robotics

A sketch of a wheelchair with legs that Furuta drew when he was in Jr. High

Robotics is a hot topic worldwide these days. Amongst this global buzz, in Tsudanuma city in Chiba prefecture, Takayuki Furuta is involved in research and development of a different kind of robot. Instead of focusing exclusively on humanoid robots, this robotics engineer and developer of the Morph, Hallucigenia, and Halluc II robots approaches his work from a new perspective. We had a chat with this fascinating man about his world-altering ideas.

Interviewed by Takafumi Suzuki
Translated by Claire Tanaka

Furuta sometimes spends all night hard at work

Could you tell me a bit about how you came to be a participant at The Great Robot Exhibition ?

Most robotics researchers just do their research and stay in the background, but I have my reasons for participating in this exhibition as a presenter. I need to bridge the gap between current cutting-edge technology and future technology. In order to do that, I’ve got to work to create a social background and lifestyle in which robotic technology is used. You could say what I’m doing is a sort of missionary work. For example, take the cellular phone. That technology has been around for ages, but if someone had taken that technology when it was first developed and started pecking away at their phone in a commuter train, it just wouldn’t have been socially acceptable. I mean, people have to be shown how to use the technology so that it can fit into their world. I also want the visitors, particularly children, to experience the technology. I think of this kind of event, and places like the Miraikan The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation are a type of missionary activity, in a way.

So, you want to create robots that are useful for people in their daily lives, then?

Yes, that’s right. I’ve got high ambitions. I always say I’m making the future with my work, but when I say that I don’t mean a future with a bunch of inorganic robots in it. I don’t think we need to make the world any more convenient than it is now, either. There are two different types of future-making that I’m thinking of; one which we can do within the bounds of technology, and one which takes place outside of technology. Robotics is something we would be doing with technology, of course. I want to make technology that is kind to the environment, and which gets rid of barriers. In our aging society, we’ll be able to use robotic technology while preserving human dignity in fields like medicine, social services, and care for the elderly. And while I know this is a rather typical thing to say, the non-technological side of my work is in education. The best way to change society and build for the future is to educate the children through interactive experiences.

One robot is born from a multitude of parts

Could you tell me a bit more about the Halluc II?

It’s a robot outfitted with multi-jointed wheel modules. It was designed as an automobile of the future. It can switch between three modes; Vehicle, Insect, and Animal Mode. It was made this way in order to be gentle on the environment. Instead of destroying nature in order to make roads, the vehicle can adapt to the natural environment. That is the fundamental idea that this vehicle was based upon.

Most people picture a human-shaped robot when they hear the word “robot”. What is a robot to you, Mr. Furuta?

Stated simply, a robot is something that can feel, think, and move. It’s a smart machine. A robot is a combination of software, electronics, and mechanisms. A robot doesn’t have to be shaped like a human in order to be considered a proper robot. For example, modern cars that have sensors built-in that help with parallel parking are robots. Houses that have sensors built-in are also using robotic technology. Cameras that automatically set the white balance and switch from macro to nightscape mode are using robotic technology too. Humanoid robots are just something that robotics engineers who are fans of science fiction animation like to make.


Center staff concentrating on his work

HallucII and the cockpit

So, what do you consider to be a good use of robotic technology?

I want robotic technology to become as indispensable as the mobile phone. I want it to act as a remover of barriers. When I was in Junior High, I fell ill and had to use a wheelchair for some time. During that time, I used to think about how great it would be to have a wheelchair with wheels that could move like legs. If I had such a wheelchair, I wouldn’t need anyone’s help, I could evade obstacles, and it would be just like walking. I figured that anyone would prefer to ride a wheelchair like that. It would be admired by everyone, with none of that negative image that regular wheelchairs have. That’s what robotics technology is all about to me; making essential technology for those who need it.

I see. Now, how did you manage to stop using a wheelchair?

It was nothing short of a miracle, really. I used a cane to walk and worked really hard at it until I was able to walk again. I was given just months to live, but I made a full recovery. They say cases like that are one in ten thousand. I seem to have a rather unusual body (laughs). I have had a lot of strange things go on with my body. I have had the experience of losing over thirty kilograms in just one month, and my vision has gone from less than 0.1 (20/200) to 1.5 (20/14).

Morph 3* is a little different than conventional humanoid robots. It was developed with “beautility” in mind. *Morph 3 was a Kitano Symbiotic Systems project done in collaboration with Shunji Yamanaka of Leading Edge Design. On June 1, 2003, the Morph 3 research and development team moved to the Chiba Institute of Technology Future Robotics Technology Center(fuRo) where research and development continues to be done.

Is that so! I’ve never heard of such a thing. Well I suppose you’ve got to take that good grace and put it into your robotics research and development work. What are your plans for the near future?

Right now I’m collaborating with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on a project. We’ve embedded infrared markers and wireless tags in the street, and we collect information with a computer server. It’s a project to make a system so that shop and location information can be accessed even in places where GPS signals can’t be received. We’re using the Ginza 4 Chome area as our initial demonstration experiment right now, but we’re planning on conducting more experiments in major city centers nationwide soon. If we can make a street information system and have robots which can access it, robots can become even more safe and convenient. One more future project is to make standardized robotic components so that people can make a variety of customized robots according to their needs, just like people make customized personal computers today.

That’s quite a unique venture.

When I was a child (age 2 to 8) I lived in India, and at that time a Japanese monk who had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize taught me the philosophy, “The real essentials are not something you can see with your eyes.” Speaking broadly, what I want to do is create people, things, events, and worlds. What I’m doing now is using robotics as a platform to achieve that. I’m working on an assistive robot right now which is similar to KITT from Knight Rider. Once we can make a platform that anyone can use, that’s when the technology becomes really useful.


Moving smoothly in Vehicle Mode

Check out the legs!

The legs open up gradually

In Insect Mode it really does look like an insect!

Could you tell me a bit more about this KITT–like assistive robot?

It’s a sort of robot wheelchair. You tell it “Go to Tokyo Station” and it takes you to Tokyo Station. Then you say “I wonder if there are any ramen shops around here?” and it finds a shop for you and takes you there. Now we’re working on incorporating face recognition technology, so we could use that technology to do a variety of things in real time. For example, if the robot identifies the rider as being in his seventies or so, it could automatically adjust the meter display so the figures are larger and easier to read.

HallucII

Amazing. It sounds just like something out of a science fiction fantasy novel. I understand you only sleep two or three hours per night because you are so devoted to your robotics technology research. Tell me, what is your driving force?

I have come close to dying once, so I am very familiar with the idea that humans all must die at some point. When I die, I want to be able to look back and think “Aah, that was a really good life!” I believe that the purpose of life is self-satisfaction, so I am just trying to do things that will bring me that personal satisfaction.

fuRo[Future Robotics Technology Center]
2-17-1 Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba

Takayuki Furuta
Doctor of Engineering. Robotic development group leader at the Japan Science and Technology Agency since 2000. Director of the Chiba Institute of Technology Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo) since June 2003

46 Comments

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  3. […] Making the Future with Robotics The bilingual Japan-based PingMag has a sister site called PingMag MAKE that is devoted to showcasing the “life stories of people who are building today and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors” in a weekly interview format. This week they interview robotics engineer Takayuki Furuta, and his development of robots at the fuRo Future Robotics Technology Center. According to Mr. Furuta, “In our aging society, we’ll be able to use robotic technology while preserving human dignity in fields like medicine, social services, and care for the elderly,” and this interview provides insight into how he plans to use robotics in response to Japan’s aging population problem, handicap accessibility, and other social issues. […]

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  7. […] una mirada y conocer en que estan trabajando actualmente los centros de investigación. Fantástica entrevista en PingMag a Takayuki Furuta, un investigador japonés que está haciendo realidad ideas visionarias sobre la robótica. […]

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