Futuristic Human-Robot Communication

Yuki Nakagawa and Noriaki NakagawaRT Corporation

Tokyo, Japan

AbstractIn the last few years, we have witnessed in InformationTechnologies that virtual communication over the networkhas become highly multi-modal, thus richer. In additionto the online chat and short text messaging (SMS), videoand audio have become common and well integrated in or-der to realize the richness. In communication and interac-tions among humans and robots, such richness are still raredespite its high potential. We are currently studying thisthroughout relevant technology development as the new, fu-turistic style of communication among humans and robots.

Almost all the robots that we see at factory or homeare controlled based on positions. When shifting the con-trol paradigm from position to force, robots are said to in-crease intelligence and flexibility in their movement andtasks. However, this control paradigm shift has brought uptwo technical challenges: loss of accuracy and certainty ofrepeatability. We are currently in search of alternatives, in-cluding Artificial Intelligence that has been proved effectivein ambiguous and uncertain situation.

We will introduce the futuristic style of communica-tion among humans and robots and advances of the con-trol paradigm shift in this lecture. We then promote discus-sions in many different aspects about the futuristic human-robot communication throughout the hands-on demonstra-tion of the touch-force-controlled robot arm, so-called”NEKONOTE”, and attached sensing devices.

Short Bio.Yuki Nakagawa, the CEO of RT Corporation headquarteredin the center of ’Akihabara Electric Town’, Tokyo, Japan, isa well established specialist in robotics. She has developedvarious intelligent robots such as autonomous and collab-orative mobile robots for the RoboCup small robot soccerleague and the cutting-edge humanoid robot RIC 90. Priorto her venture at RT Corporation, she participated as a re-searcher in the Kitano Symbiotic System Research Project,that is a part of the Exploratory Research for AdvancedTechnology program within the Japan Science and Technol-ogy Agency. She also served as a lead curator at the NationalMuseum of Emerging Science and Innovation, and an as-sistant professor at the Interdisciplinary Graduate School ofScience and Engineering at Tokyo Institute of Technology.

She has been commended for numerous significant contribu-tions in robotics from the Japanese Society of Artificial In-telligence, the Japan Society for Fuzzy Technologies and In-telligent Informatics and RoboCup Japan Open. She earnedM.Sc. in System Engineering and B.E. in Measurement andControl Engineering from Hosei University, Japan.

Noriaki Nakagawa is the lead engineer of RT Corpora-tion, responsible for design and implementation of RIC 90.He earned M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and B.E. in Me-chanical Engineering from Daido University, Japan.

Contact InformationAddress: 3F, 3-2-13 Sotokanda, Chiyodaku 101-0021,Tokyo, JapanTEL: +81-3-6666-2566FAX: +81-3-5809-5738E-mail: nakagawa@rt-net.jp, n.nakagawa@rt-net.jp