Robots that can follow the bouncing ball.

ROBOTS ARE INEXPENSIVE AND efficient when working in a very controlled environment. They can work on a factory assembly line and grasp an object within a three-dimensional box-like workspace. Tell a robot to pick up the silicon chip located at x=52, y=200, z=29 and it will do so. However, as soon as one small variable is changed--the location of the object or the starting position of the robot arm--the whole system gets out of whack and requires a human to reset it.

Dr. Chris Gaskett works at the ATR research center in the hills of southern Kyoto. Gaskett is working on creating robots that adapt to our environment. He works with a multi-million dollar robot that has two movable eyes mounted on a movable head. The 2-meter-tall robot also has human-like arm movements and is able to turn its body from side to side.

Unlike a more traditional robot that uses the x,y,z axes to locate objects, Gaskett instructs the ATR robot to use a closed-loop system in which the robot can see and identify both its hand and a target object--in this case a pink ball. The robot gracefully moves its "hand," a yellow piece of plastic, toward the ball, eventually touching it. The constant feedback loop allows the robot to follow the ball anywhere within its workspace. The robot learns more about the structure of its body as it moves.

The difference in orientation between the traditional robot and the one at ATR is significant because with the closed-loop learning system the robots can adapt to their environment.

Gaskett's next objective is to help a robot locate an object outside of its field of vision, essentially telling a robot, "Look behind you." This task is made difficult by the fact that the robot is physically supported by a 2-meter pole and a hydraulic lift sticking out of its butt.

A robot will need to be able to stand by itself and walk around in order to increase the size of its workspace. Once it does, though, eventually the robot could be instructed to search your house and pick up your dirty socks. If robots have a humanoid shape, they'll be able to reach for and use objects and live in a human-like environment.

The most interesting thing in the robot's demonstration was how humanlike its movements were. Move the pink ball close to the robot's chest and his head and torso tilt down, his eyes cross and remain fixated on the ball. The movements are nearly identical to those of an infant practicing depth perception while reaching for and grasping its first cookie. While other robots, like Sony's AIBO dog, are programmed to be cute by mimicking natural movements, the ATR robot's gracefulness is almost a side product of its main objective.

A video of the robot following and reaching for a moving object is available on Gaskett's homepage: www.his.atr .co.jp/~cgaskett/.