At one point, wireless communicators and global networks connecting computers together were technologies that you would only find in science fiction books. Today, these are very real, and very much a part of normal society.
The single device that most science-fiction writers have been fantasizing about for many decades is the humanoid robot. Hundreds of movies and thousands of books have been written about the practical and ethical considerations involved in developing machines that look and act like human beings.
The humanoid robot is one of those technologies that people love to see in futuristic movies, and robotics enthusiasts have always dreamed of the day when in-home robots would be both practical and affordable.
Well, a company called RoboDynamics claims that the day of the robot has finally arrived.
Luna the Programmable Humanoid Robot
The inspiration for the design and marketing of Luna appears to be the open-source Android mobile market. RoboDynamics hopes to tap into the global resource of innovative programmers to grow the software base that gives Luna its functionality.
On May 11th, RoboDynamics unveiled the robot as the "world's first personal robot designed for mainstream consumer adoption."
From the specifications, it appears that Luna is essentially a human-sized computer - slash - iPad. It comes complete with a standard PC system with a Linux-based operating system, a touchscreen display, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and USB ports.
Looks Cool, But What Does It Do?
CEO of RoboDynamics, Fred Nikgohar, states in the company press release that the company's hope is that Luna will spark innovation, leading to future "apps" that give it more functionality.
"Luna is a radical rethinking of personal robots and we believe a beautifully designed, human sized, open, and affordable personal robot will spark a flurry of innovations similar to what we’ve already seen in parallel industries such as PCs and Mobiles."
What does Luna actually do? Well, the press release doesn't really say. From Fred's explanation of what Luna is, it appears it's essentially a life-sized humanoid computer system that can roll around the house.
"For the price of a laptop we’ve made available for the first time a human-sized robot with incredibly elegant design, infinite expandability, and a native App Store. Our objective is to aggressively remove cost and complexity thereby facilitating widespread consumer adoption while simultaneously providing a unique ground floor opportunity for the developer community to bring innovative ideas to a financially viable robotics ecosystem.”
The idea is fantastic, but it seems a bit misleading to market it as a "robot" when, just based on this press release, it is really nothing more than a large, rolling iPad that can probably play music and movies.
According to a CrunchBase article article about Luna, the practical functionality of the humanoid robot is essentially roll around and use its oddly simple arms to carry things around. Sure, it can probably walk the dog or carry a tray, but guess who has to carefully place the tray in its arms, or attach the dog's leash to its "hands"? And, unless the thing is a few hundred pounds, most dogs would be able to take off and pull the thing right over on its side.
"If she is real she seems to be able to move in multiple directions and has special hands that can be placed in any position for various activities including the all-important 'tray holding' position so she can swirl through the crowd crowing about 'Long Island Ice Teas' while the government’s top brass slowly get drunk."
While I was initially excited about purchasing and owning one of the first personal robots in the world, after reading the press release, I think I'll probably stick to saving up for an iPad. It's far more portable, and isn't bound to rolling around inside the house. And the iPad can probably do everything Luna can do, except look like a robot.
It does have the "cool" factor that wealthy folks like for entertaining guests at their cocktail parties. For regular folks - it just doesn't seem very practical or even particularly useful.
Luna Will Be Available Later in 2011
The company will be shipping a thousand "limited edition" Luna models later this year for about $3,000, but the first 25 will be auctioned off to benefit the RoboDynamics Educational Outreach Program.
The actual mass-production of the Luna humanoid robot will only start in the second half of 2012, and will very likely be priced significantly lower than the first-edition models.
Until more advanced hardware (such as hands that can grip and a body that can bend over) become part of the system, I don't see the first generation of this robot being much more than an interesting novelty item.
Ryan Dube is editor-in-chief of TSW and an electrical engineer in the automation industry. He spends his time investigating declassified government documents, legends and conspiracy theories. Ryan has 374 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
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