Kewl! Funny, though I'm familiar with "domo arigato" (I used to own that Styx album), my first thought was that his name came from "major-domo"--a butler or household steward.
-------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > By Tom Chao > LiveScience.com Staff Writer > posted: 16 April 2007 > 08:26 am ET > > > A new breed of robots could soon break free of assembly line duties to > assist human living in myriad ways. > > MIT researchers recently demonstrated the capabilities of such a robot, > named Domo, which, like the robot in a recent General Motors ad, can > transcend mass-production's repetition. It is designed to interact with > humans and adapt to its environment in ways previously only imagined in > science fiction. > > Presently, Domo can identify objects, reach for them and place them on > shelves. Unlike an assembly-line robot, Domo can sense its surroundings > using a pair of video cameras for eyes; they are connected to 12 > computers. The cameras are built into remarkably human-looking > "eyeballs," for a reason, said Domo's developer, Aaron Edsinger. > > "I found that, by making them immediately understandable as eyes, it was > very easy to read [Domo's] eye-gaze direction, which is important when > working with it," Edsinger said. "They also greatly increase people's > comfort level with the robot." > > Domo has been designed to tune into unexpected motion, allowing it to > function within human environments. It is especially sensitive to human > faces, which is necessary for social interaction. When Domo spots motion > resembling a human face, the robot locks on it. > > By your command > > A recent demonstration showed off Domo's voice recognition capabilities. > "Hey, Domo," Edsinger said, and Domo responded in kind. "Shelf, Domo," > Edsinger said. Domo gingerly reached for a nearby shelf with an arm-like > appendage of metal and wires, and touched the shelf to verify its existence. > > Next, Edsinger placed a bag of coffee beans in Domo's other hand. By > wiggling it and making optical measurements, Domo deduced the size of > the object. Then Domo figured out how to transfer the bag from one hand > to the other, and then placed the bag on the shelf. > > A robot capable of such tasks may serve many useful purposes for the > elderly or mobility-impaired, especially in light of aging Baby Boomers. > > Edsinger, who has worked on Domo for the past three years, describes it > as the "next generation" of MIT robots. Domo follows in the robotic > footsteps of Kismet, designed for human interaction, and Cog, which had > the capability of manipulating unfamiliar objects. > > Don't touch me there > > Unlike its predecessors, Domo also has the ability to sense touch, > necessary for safe interaction with humans. Springs in its arms, hands > and neck can sense force, allowing it to respond appropriately. Pushing > its hand will make it move in the direction of the push. > > "By placing that spring in there, you get physical compliance that makes > the whole body sort of springy, which makes it safer for human > interaction," Edsinger said. But too much force or moving Domo's arms in > the wrong direction will produce a vocal response of "ouch." > > Original funding for Domo came from NASA, and the project is now > supported by Toyota, which could apply such a robot for assembly line > production. Intelligent robots could work together with people to make > workers more productive and save manufacturing jobs from being sent > overseas, Edsinger said. > > The name "Domo" was inspired by the Japanese phrase, domo arigato [thank > you very much], Edsinger told LiveScience, and also by the Styx song, > "Mr. Roboto." Also, the two strong syllables are easy for the speech > recognition system to understand. > http://www.livescience.com/technology/070416_mit_robot.html > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
