Top 5 Noteworthy Robots

Robots are usually the stuff of science-fiction movies, where they are shown moving, talking and thinking very much like humans do.  They are usually depicted as having their own will, or having programming so advanced that they possess an inherent intelligence that rivals that of their human counterparts.

Most people think that robots do not exist in real life.  Well, maybe not like how they are featured in the movies, but there are actually some really cool and noteworthy robots in existence now.  Technically, a robot must be able to move around, have a mechanical limb, and manipulate its environment, display intelligent behavior or a combination of any of these.

The top five noteworthy robots in existence are:

BEAR

A robot introduced by the United States Army two years ago, BEAR, or Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot, can lift a person weighing 135 kilograms or lighter.  BEAR has been designed to carry injured soldiers where ever they might fall, and thus can navigate through any terrain with ease.

No more risking anybody’s life going back into danger zones, BEAR can easily go back and retrieve fallen comrades at ease!

Valerie

Believe it or not, Valerie is a female android that can clean your house, do your laundry, wash the dishes and even monitor stock prices for you.  Developed by scientists at the Carnegie Mellon University, Valerie started out as a receptionist at the university.  Carnegie Mellon’s Valerie can carry out simple tasks like give you directions, answer the phone, and dish out the latest news about her life.

Valerie is the nearest existing android that can mimic human behaviors and is based largely on another Carnegie Mellon project called GRACE, another socially adept robot that attended a conference on artificial intelligence and delivered a presentation on itself, even making small talk and answering questions on itself.

Roomba

The Roomba is proof that you do not have to have human characteristics to be considered a valuable robot.  Roomba looks more like a portable CD player more than a human, and is actually a vacuum cleaner.

But what a vacuum cleaner it is.  Created by iRobot, a Roomba can vacuum any room without any human intervention.  Once finished, it will go back to its base to recharge itself.  Roombas may also be programmed to start automatically.

The Roomba may not look like your typical robot, but it is one of the most popular robots right now.  More than 2.5 million homes are now cleaned by the Roomba.

ASIMO

Honda’s well-known robot has figured in some of the company’s advertisement all over the world.  ASIMO, an acronym meaning Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, may be purchased for around $1 million.  Honda’s advanced astronaut looking robot can walk and run, and actually stands at 4′3″.  ASIMO can also recognize moving objects, imitate the movements of people around it, greet people as they approach, and shake hands, waves at people.  When it walks, ASIMO can stop when it encounters staircases, or avoid bumping into people.  It can also recognize sounds, especially the sound of its own name.  Lastly, ASIMO can remember who you are and call you by name by recognizing your face if you are one of the ten people registered in its databank.

Kismet

Kismet is one of the earliest and more sociable robots in existence today.  Developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kismet can communicate naturally with humans and actively interact with them.  Kismet can also learn from these interactions.

Kismet can display various emotions including anger, surprise, happiness, disgust, sadness and calm. Aside from facial expressions, Kismet can also change its tone of voice and movement.  Speech patterns are analyzed by software that analyzes whether the speaker is sad, happy or excited and Kismet will respond accordingly.  Kismet can also gaze at you directly, and it can orient its eyes like humans do.

There are a lot of other robots in existence that can rival these five in their capabilities and wow factor.  Other robots that can dance move and interact with humans.  And as more and more organizations are devoting their time to robotics research and artificial intelligence, one can expect more advances in robots in the near future.  It might be just a matter of time before the robots we see in movies become a common everyday thing.