Robot assistants will be everyday

ASIMO

The Research Institute for Cognitive and robotics (CoR-Lab) at the University of Bielefeld opened. In addition, a research cooperation between the University of Bielefeld and the Honda Research Institute Europe Ltd. (HRI-EU). Both took place at a symposium and in the presence of Professor Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Tomohiko Kawanabe, board member of Honda research and development. The Research Institute for Cognitive and robotics at the University of Bielefeld, university and basic industrial research. The aim of the interdisciplinary groups of researchers at the CoR-Lab is to make robots with cognitive and social skills and to enable them to everyday assistant for the people. The Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of North Rhine-Westphalia has the structure of the institution with 1.1 million euros and it will continue to support. The Japanese Honda technology group cooperates with the CoR-Lab, supports the doctoral studies and represents the two scientists Bielefeld humanoid robot ASIMO with the appropriate software. This allows the CoR-Lab became the first academic institution in Europe’s high-tech robot as a research platform. “The University of Bielefeld is internationally known that under its roof excellent researchers for many years with great success across disciplines at the interface between computer science, linguistics, brain and cognitive science,” said Professor Dr. Dieter Timmermann, Rector of the University of Bielefeld. “Important problems on the road to realization of intelligent systems will be investigated at the highest level. We thank Honda and the Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of North Rhine-Westphalia for the support and the associated confidence.” Together with partners from the industry – especially with Honda – are the groups of researchers of the Institute unresolved key issues central to achieving acceptable everyday robots. In the center of the CoR-Lab, the Technical Faculty of the University of Bielefeld, in particular the neuro-research groups and Applied computer science, in the fields of artificial perception of the computer vision and neural control of movement. “Our goal is robot, which often lack the uniqueness of human communication can bypass, which means it is not clear verbal instructions and gestures’ spirit ‘can interpret,” says computer science Professor Dr. Gerhard Sagerer, board member of the Research Institute for Cognitive and robotics . “We ask ourselves how we robot intuitive or instruct them to self-learning ability – perhaps it is even possible, the machines’ basic ‘social competence. All conditions in order for us to people easier assistants. ” In doing so, the scientists, for example, applications in the household or care in the eye. With Honda, the CoR-Lab a first, very important strategic partner. The Honda made available ASIMO is the latest zweibeinige humanoid robot in the world – he can run, objects and contrary, push a cart on a person react and shake his hand and to a certain extent, hear and speak. The scientists want Bielefeld in technically-oriented projects the cognitive and motor skills of ASIMO evolve. It is also planned, ASIMO in interaction studies with children and adults. It will investigate how people react to the robot and how they perceive behavior of the robot. “The ASIMO is for us the perfect robot to the human-machine interaction to explore,” said Professor Sagerer. “In the first research designs we will be opposite and partner of test subjects, and observe how communication – for instance through body language – expires.” It will then draw conclusions be drawn, like a robot designed and an ideal way to behave towards people. “The machine should adapt itself to the people, not vice versa,” says Professor Sagerer the philosophy of Bielefeld robot research. The two ASIMO, the CoR-Lab available now. “The decision to a qualitatively new cooperation with the University of Bielefeld is mainly due to pass the technical ability of the scientific concepts of both institutions,” said Professor Edgar grains, president of Honda Research Institute Europe (HRI-EU). “Another important reason was the close relationship of trust, which is located in part of a series of joint research projects within the past few years has developed.” The HRI-EU aims, following the example of biological systems (the brain), as intelligence technology for optimal control of complex systems under constantly changing environmental conditions for a wide range of applications to be developed. Intelligence stands for the ability to robust and flexible problem-solving in complex situations, especially under the condition of limited resources such as time and energy. The brains of highly beings need to assess their intensive interaction with the environment, such as communication and manipulation in humans, because the only way for a Best performance required extensive knowledge can be obtained. The investigation and understanding basic mechanisms of these active exploration of the environment through the autonomous intelligent system requires close cooperation between the interdisciplinary areas of technical sciences, experimental and theoretical neurobiology, psychology, linguistics, and new and emerging scientific areas, such as the Developmental Neurobiology. “This interdisciplinary width can no longer be a research institution of a company generates. The Technical Faculty of the University of Bielefeld, in big projects for interaction and communication by manipulating the ability and willingness to broad interdisciplinary work in recent years. Therefore, the enhanced cooperation in the framework of the CoR-Labs and the related Graduate School allow us to these topics in the basic area in the context of a common strategy concentrated on pushing forward, “said Professor grains.