What Aristotle called instruments, scientists are now calling humanoid robots. These humanoids emerged in science-fi ction novels and movies and were depicted as robots with the same, if not more, mobility and cognitive skills than humans.

Now, scientists around the world are taking steps to advance humanoid robots to the level of their science- fi ction counterparts.

In the United States, companies such as American Android, which specializes in developing state-of-the- art technology for humanoids, work to advance technologies that help robots move, think and learn better.

David Handelman, president and founder of American Android, said he wants to build “dexterous, agile and robust” robots that can move as well as athletes can move.

To achieve that desired result, American Android has had to address the degree of freedom or flexibility of motion for a robot’s structure compared to a human’s joints. Handelman said
the more joints a robot has, the harder it is to control.

American Android’s limb-coordination technology and All-Terrain Biped are easing this problem. Its limb-coordination technology is improving posture and balance, and creating angles for joints that make a more agile robot. The All-Terrain Biped focuses on giving two-legged robots better mobility and balance.

With funding from NASA and DARPA, Handelman said, American Android has helped create Robonaut, a humanoid robot intended to assist astronauts with space assembly, inspection and maintenance tasks.

Once the technologies advance to level comparable to human movement, he said, robots would be used to perform or supplement humans in performing tasks that fall under the three Ds: dull, dirty or dangerous tasks. Such tasks include homeland security, defense, firefighting and search and rescue.

Although some advances in robotics are occurring in the U.S., George Bekey, a roboticist and professor of computer science at the University of Southern California, said American
companies haven’t had the motivations to build them as often or as effectively as other countries.

“The current state of humanoid robots is best illustrated by the Japanese robots,” said Bekey, who in the past year led a group of roboticists to about 50 labs in Europe, Korea and Japan. “Their culture is a lot more oriented to robots than ours is. Japanese companies are much more willing to invest for the long term.”

Every major Japanese company, he said, is making some type of humanoid.

For example, Honda has the ASIMO, an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. Since beginning its research in 1986, Honda has created 11 humanoid prototypes. Honda’s most recent venture began in 2000 with the development of the ASIMO.

In 2002, Honda added intelligence 6 technology to ASIMO, which allows it to interpret human postures and gestures; greet and follow people; recognize human faces; and address humans by name. Honda’s Web site claims that the ASIMO is the world’s first humanoid robot to exhibit such a broad range of intelligent capabilities.

Now, ASIMO weighs about 115 pounds and stands nearly 4 feet tall, making it the most compact humanoid Honda has built. According to its Web site, Honda engineers’ ultimate goal was to build a humanoid that benefited people in their daily environment.

Sony has taken a different approach to advancing humanoids. Toshi Doi, an executive vice president at Sony, has been quoted as saying, “Sony doesn’t make useful robots. Sony makes robots that entertain.”

In September, Sony unveiled Qrio, a robot that has been called the world’s first running robot. At the unveiling, Doi said the technological breakthrough with the Qrio is getting its two feet off the ground at once, mimicking the running stride of a human.

Until recently, the 23-inch, 15- pound Qrio was known as the Sony Dream Robot, which entertained crowds with its dancing. Now, Qrio can run at a speed of 15 yards per minute, which is equivalent to a human walking at a speed of 1.5 miles per hour.

Other Japanese companies have thrown their efforts into advancing humanoids, too. Fujitsu has HOAP, Humanoid for Open Architecture Platform, which is being used to research movement control and communication.

As the humanoids in Japan and around the world inch closer to resembling humans and performing tasks as well as or sometimes better than humans, both Bekey and Handelman believe ethical questions will arise.

Although ethics play an integral role in the future of robotics, ethical questions have been asked and addressed before in science fiction, Bekey said.

Take Isaac Asimov, for example, who in the 1940s wrote science-fiction novels. Asimov addressed ethical concerns by creating the “Three Laws of Robotics,” a set of rules that robots followed:

- Law One: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

- Law Two: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first law.

- Law Three: A robot must protect its own existence, as long as this does not conflict with the fi rst two laws.

Asimov wrote the three laws before robots existed, but Bekey said they reflect ongoing concerns some people have about robots.

“Those laws will grow in importance as time goes on,” he said. “This is a very important social issue.”

Handelman agreed, saying labor as far as the displacement of workers is the most prevalent concern.

“The use of technology to replace manual labor has been going on since the Industrial Revolution began,” Bekey said. “If technology advances, then we need to fi nd other things for these people to do: Train them. Send them back to school. Enable them to do new tasks.”

Americans fear progress in this area because the competitive nature of the United States, Handelman said, but roboticists are quick to point out that robots are replacing humans in tasks that are “dull, dirty and dangerous” and in places where people don’t want to go.

One area – elder care – is an area in which Bekey and Handelman said humanoids are likely to be implemented.

In this instance, Handelman said, the social implication is benefi cial. He believes because Japan has an aging population, people are interested in building machines that can take care of people in nursing homes.

However, Bekey, who believes humanoids may be used in nursing homes within 20 years, said “the emotional and physical relationships become crucial. You want to make sure they don’t injure humans.”

Another question being asked is “will humanoids ever have robot rights similar to the way humans have human rights?”

“I think as robots get smarter, we will need to address the issue of their rights,” Handelman said. “However, we have a long way to go before that.”