Robots playing soccer will beat humans in the 2050 World Cup

They, Robot: A robotics lab in Japan announced last week that soccer-playing robots will beat humans in the 2050 World Cup. Meanwhile, they're conducting orchestras, waltzing and learning to talk

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When the average person thinks of the word "robot", they usually don't envision the ugly creatures working on production lines, connected by a cable to a central computer. We have always seen the robot as something almost human, something that strives to be as close to us as possible. In our eyes, the "real" robots are human-like, equipped with artificial intelligence and abilities that mimic the movements and activities of people. In recent years, the field of "human" robots, known as humanoids or androids, has become busier and more competitive than ever.

Not a week goes by when some group of engineers around the globe does not announce the completion of the development of a more sophisticated humanoid robot. Most of them are built in Japan and Korea, which compete with each other in this prestigious niche, and they emerge from the laboratories of universities and the giant manufacturers of cars and electronic systems.

Some of them play wind instruments, conduct an orchestra, sing, climb stairs, dance waltzes, perform flick-flack exercises and karate, sumo or other Chinese martial arts movements. There are dog-like robots that are supposed to serve as a substitute for a pet, and a robot that is able to think, learn and answer questions, like a normal person. A robot is under development that will communicate with humans as a companion and helper for seriously ill patients, such as Alzheimer's patients.

They also build dogs
To what extent humans, especially in Japan and Korea, are beginning to get used to the presence of humanoid or dog-like robots in their environment, can be learned from the desire to give these products recognizable affectionate names: "Asimo" is the robot developed by the "Honda" company, and it is able to walk and dance, Recognize faces and answer simple questions in a conversation. "Kryo," which is 70 cm tall and was developed by "Sony," will serve as a companion and personal assistant to its human owners and will also conduct, with an enthusiastic baton wave, an orchestra (he has already conducted Beethoven's Fifth played by the Tokyo Philharmonic) and dance . The "MS Dancer," resembling a woman on four wheels, developed at the Japanese "Tohoku" University, dances a waltz as it coordinates its steps according to the intensity of the hug exerted by the human partner, who is close to it. "Morph" exercises, "Hoap" makes movements of a sumo wrestler.

"Ivo" and a more sophisticated version of "Sega" that will hit the market in April called "Idog" are dog-like robots, which, in addition to being electronic pets, will be used to treat people who have lost their memory, because contact with a "dog" will improve their condition. They will also monitor the condition of the patients and automatically report to the hotline. "Tron-X," developed in Germany, mimics human muscle movements, including facial muscles. "Toyota" built the robot that plays the trumpet. "Promat" is the robot that imitates traditional Japanese dance movements.

The Koreans built what they defined as the smartest robot in the world, 1.50 meters, 67 kg, wears a kind of space suit, is able to think and communicate with humans in a short conversation, recognizes its "owner", integrates into a human environment. Its speed is 0.9 km/h (compared to "Asimo" - 3 km/h when running). When it was first revealed about two weeks ago, he replied to a journalist that he was waiting for someone to suggest a suitable name for him.

Ronaldo, behind you
The scientists are now trying to add "biological capabilities" to the robots - in total computers equipped with wireless communication capabilities (some are controlled by a cell phone) and sophisticated software that allows them to move arms, legs and heads. Last week, a team from the University of California in Los Angeles announced that He grew pulsating tissue - heart muscle - of a mouse, in a microscopic silicon chip, less than 1 millimeter long. In doing so, they created a combination between living cells and an electronic chip, and in the future it will be a bionic robot that will be transported using quasi-muscles, instead of mechanical systems that drive it today. After "growing" them, the bionic muscles looked like those in a frog's legs.

It is worth paying attention to two predictions published not long ago: by 2007, people in the world will operate 2.5 million robots in their homes, and these will perform various tasks for them, including cleaning the floor and windows, vacuuming, maybe even setting the table for dinner and serving as "entertainment and leisure assistants." "At the end of that year there will already be 4.1 million humanoids - compared to 137 thousand today.

The second prediction, published last week, says that by 2050 the robots that play soccer and participate every year in the "Robot World Cup," RoboCup, will be able to beat human soccer teams. The Robot Laboratory from Osaka, Japan, published the "threat" and stated that its goal is to "win the World Cup in 2050 no less." "Until then we will live in a society where humans and creatures with artificial intelligence, computerized and steeped in electronics, sensors and cameras, will live in complete harmony, side by side," they predict.

This may be the realization of the vision of the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, who wrote the fascinating book "I, Robot" 55 years ago, which was also made into a movie, in which he formulated the three basic laws for the world of robots: "A The robot will not injure or harm a human being. B. The robot will obey the commands and instructions of the human, except when there is a conflict and conflict with the first law. C. The robot must protect its existence as long as this does not contradict the first law." The big question is whether in the future It will be possible to trust the humans themselves, not to create robots that improved all three of these laws together.

The Israeli head invents robots for us
Israel is also strong in robotics, although more so in the industrial areas: in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Judea and Samaria Academic College in Ariel, they recently built a robot that navigates itself using the GPS satellite positioning system. Among its tasks: distributing mail and collecting it from different stations. The robot was programmed to operate along a winding path on the college campus, it knows how to bypass obstacles using distance sensors, and now it is being installed a vision system that will include a digital camera.

At the Holon Academic-Technological Institute, the robot "R" 700 was built made of Lego bricks and the treasure inside it is a computer to travel the city according to a local road map. The planners assigned him to circle squares, announce entertainment and cultural events held in the city and at the end of his journey to blow up a balloon. Why? – for the gimmick.

At the Technion in Haifa, a Chinese doctoral student built a yo-yo game robot. It is activated in two ways: through a vision system (cameras and sensors), which follows the yo-yo and transmits information to the computer about the position of the ball at each stage. Also included in the robot is a system that does not look at the ball, but receives feedback from the hit which is obtained when the yo-yo reaches the end of the string.

Another team at the Technion built a three-legged spider robot, which is able to move through burrows, pipes and tunnels, while clinging to the walls, locate those trapped inside destroyed buildings and report outside, to the force of a rescue unit, about their condition and location. The same team also developed the soccer playing robot. Whereas a team of engineers at the Faculty of Civil Engineering developed a robot that can replace builders: build a block wall and also stick porcelain tiles on it, the kind we all have in our kitchens and bathrooms, with a level of accuracy higher than that of a human.

Alex Doron, Maariv

The robotics expert
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