Say hello to Robi, the cute little interactive humanoid robot from Japan that can talk, dance and do a host of other things, writes Izwan Ismail
HUMANOID robots are slowly moving into our lives, something we used to see in sci-fi movies like the robots in Star Wars movies such as the BB-8 droid, K-2SO humanoid from Rogue One, and C-3PO and R2-D2 that you can talk to and that will respond accordingly.
We recently got our hands on Robi, the first Manglish speaking humanoid robot and had a good time playing and “chatting” with him.
WHAT IS ROBI?
You’ve probably seen him in promotional videos on the Internet or on Japanese robotics sites, but Robi will soon be available in Malaysia for robotic fans and hobbyists to own. This friendly-looking robot is 34.92cm-tall and weighs about a kilogramme.
Its creator Tomotaka Takahashi, who is also a roboticist and founder of Kyoto University’s Robo-Garage in 1999, has been creating humanoid robots that are known for their smooth, fluid motions and sleek appearance.
In creating Robi, Takahashi says he wanted a robot that has more than having many functionalities, he wanted one that people could communicate with and that shows some emotions.
This makes Robi different from other robots. When you turn it on, its big round eyes will light up, signalling that it’s ready to interact.
INTELLIGENT ROBOT
With advanced technologies built into it such as servos, microcontrollers, and a speech-recognition engine, Robi is able to interact and understand what you want it to do.
Try saying hello to it and it will reply back with a hi. When you introduce yourself, the robot will say: “Hi, I’m Robi. I’m a robot with many parts and I can talk and do all kinds of things.”
It’s cool to be able to talk to a humanoid robot that can respond accordingly.
However, Robi’s vocabulary is limited. Currently, it has a vocabulary of 250 English words, but the version that will be available in Malaysia has Manglish or Malaysian English capability.
Because of this added capability, it sometimes utters the word “lah”; for instance “okay lah” at the end of a sentence, similar to how Malaysians speak. It’s cool to hear the cute robotic voice uttering all these words.
As its inventor wanted to create a robot with fluid movements, Robi can turn his head and pelvis 360 degrees. As you speak to Robi, the robot will turn its head towards you, just like when you are speaking with another person. This is possible because there are microphones in his ears that can detect the speaker’s location and make it turn its head towards him or her.
Sometimes, after doing some speaking or movements like push-ups or a dance, it will say “I’m tired” in a slow, tired voice. When its battery is draining, it will say, “please charge me”. There is also a built-in infrared remote emitter in his forehead to enable Robi to control your TV at home.
Although Robi is quite revolutionary in terms its speech capability, it’s still far from being a perfect humanoid or droid. t only understands questions that are preprogrammed in its system and replies based on the questions asked.
During the test, we also found out that Robi is a bit slow in capturing what we said or order it to do.
We had to speak close to its ears so that it can pick up what we said to respond accordingly. We’re sure a better future awaits humanoid robots like Robi.
If we look at speech recognition technology like Siri and what it can do, like naturally responding to what we ask, Robi’s future looks exciting.
ROBI IN MALAYSIA
Today, more than 130,000 Robi robots have been assembled by fans around the world, making it the world’s best-selling humanoid robot from Japan.
The robot will be making its way to 1 Utama shopping centre in Petaling Jaya from March 10-12.
Building on the theme “Assemble Robi, Unite a Family”, the event will also provide opportunities for families to get acquainted with Robi through hands-on sessions. Most importantly, Robi has been exclusively re-programmed to speak several phrases in Bahasa Malaysia, which is only available in Malaysia.
The event will be attended by Takahashi and Hajime “Jimmy” Murano, chief executive officer and president of DeAgostini Japan.
Robi will be sold in parts at a wide range of Malaysian retailers via a weekly DeAgostini magazine which will feature the latest Robi parts, simple assembly instructions and educational articles focused on electronics and robotics. Over the course of 70 issues, Malaysians will be able to construct Robi, for quality face-time and experiences with their families.