Bipedal Dinosaur Robot

News for nerds writes "AIST and NEDO announced they have developed 2 bipedal dinosaur robots for the EXPO 2005 Aichi, Japan(Mar.25-Sep.25). PC Watch has an article with pics/movies and TBS News has a movie. Tyrannosaurus Rex and Parasaurolophus are modeled as 3.5m/80kg robots, and cost $1.8 million to build. They can roar and walk with an artificial pounding sound, but not as fearsome as Mechagodzilla. The external skin is designed by Kokoro Co., Ltd. and the endoskelton is developed by Kawada Industries, Inc. which is the manufacturer of the HRP-2 Humanoid Robot."

Woot

[Toloran]

Leave it to japan to help make power rangers into a reality.

Re:Woot-AHHH!

[Toloran]

I already have. >_

Re:Woot

[MustardMan]

In japan, only old people remember when the power rangers were popular

Re:Woot

[deathguppie]

this is only the first step of course. The next logical step is to make them six stories tall and... .oh, wait I see a problem forming here....

Re:Woot

[LS]

That's like saying

"Leave it to America to help make mickey mouse into a reality"

just like the real ones

[qewl]

have developed 2 bipedal dinosaur robots

I guess the ones on wheels just didn't cut it

Re:just like the real ones

[momerath2003]

Bipedal (e.g. t-rex) as opposed to quadrupedal (stegosaurus).

Re:just like the real ones

[qewl]

Two wheels (e.g. Segway) as opposed to four (e.g. car)

Just strap as many wheel as legs they have then hook 'em up to a RF rcontroller and play bumper dinos. Last robot still standing wins.
And rule #1: No blowtorches hooked intside their mouths.

Re:just like the real ones

[quarkscat]

Yawn!

Wake me up when I can get my very own robotic
"guard dog" velociraptor, with teeth and claws.

Somehow, I don't think it will be a Japanese
product, but maybe a Korean one. I can't wait...

its all fun and games untill roomba starts to kill

[Anonymous Coward]

I for one welcome our new dino droid masters.

Re:its all fun and games untill roomba starts to k

[JimmytheGeek]

Beat me to it. I am teh l4m3!

Roar?

[2bitcomputers]

Is making a robot 'Roar' realy a technical achievement? Next step: flashing LED eyes

Re:Roar?

[millennial]

It's not an eye! It's a little light that blinks!

Re:Roar?

[adeydas]

No making a machine 'Roar' is not an achivement. But when that machine is bipedal and moves with perfect co-ordinated steps, all controlled by a single computer within it, that's when we call it an achivement. And I believe the Japanese have done it.

"Costed"?!?

[mrchaotica]

Come on, Slashdot! Hire a fucking editor!

Re:"Costed"?!?

[digidave]

You've accosted the editors!

Re:"Costed"?!?

[mrchaotica]

Exactly; they're not editing! Editors are supposed to edit!

At the very least, they should put in a "[sic]."

Re:"Costed"?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

maybe we can get some nicer readers too.

Re:"Costed"?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot wanted to hire an editor, but after examining the budget they realised an editor would have costed too much...

Intimidating

[fembots]

At 3.5m I think it's still quite intimidating even with artificial pounding sound.

If they adjust weight to few hundred kgs, you'll start feeling it before seeing it.

Re:Intimidating

[Badfysh]

Wow, I'd love to see that..

Re:Intimidating

[Darth Hubris]

Offtopic, but at the Bellevue square mall [across Lake Wasington from Seattle] they had life-size, highly detailed dinos setup a few years ago. I was marveling at the T-Rex and decided to go across the food court and turn around and look at it.

Don't do this. Never, never do this. I had a bad small monkey reaction; the hair stood up on my neck. Just for a split-second I mused that I might not need to find the restrooms anymore. A very weird Jungian thing...

Netcraft confirms:

[Anonymous Coward]

Dinosaurs are dying!

Wait, what was it abaout again?

A Random question

[Anonymous Coward]

When does something stop being a toy and become a robot?

Re:A Random question

[WinterpegCanuck]

When it is more endowed than you, and is rated in H.P.

Re:A Random question

[Badfysh]

They don't. Men don't grow up, the toys just get bigger and better.

Re:A Random question

[AmberBlackCat]

When does something stop being a toy and become a robot?

I'd say when it starts becoming productive instead of just fun. So this dinosaur is a toy. Roomba's a robot.

Sadly...

[ackthpt]

Any new technology will be first exploited by the pr0n industry.

Tomorrow's Spam? Get Tyrann0saurus Sex

Re:Sadly...

[millennial]

Actually, IIRC, there already have been porn movies made with men in dinosaur suits, with ridiculously large prosthetic phalli that squirted cow milk. "Pornosaurus", it was called...
WARNING: NSFW/ADULT LINKS!
Pornosaurus clip 1. You weirdo. [romanpoet.org]
Pornosaurus clip 2. Freako. [romanpoet.org]

Yeah, but...

[tattoi.nobori]

Will it run linux? ^_^

Re:Yeah, but...

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Will it run linux? ^_^

I think it runs BSD. I hear dinosaurs are dying...

Re:Yeah, but...

[PakProtector]

It runs BSD because Linux has some issues with the select() call. Look it up in the man pages.

Re:Yeah, but...

[gstoddart]

I think it runs BSD. I hear dinosaurs are dying...

No, dinosaurs are already dead, so it's running SCO.

Oh the possibilities

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

It's only a matter of time until someone in Japan decide to stick Asimo, several Aibos and a bunch of angry Dinobots (and also one of these [msn.com] on an island, and shoot a totally robotic remake of Jurassic Park...

You have to start somewhere...

[owlstead]

Start by building dinosaurs, and then gradually work your way up to a human like robot. Why didn't I think of that? It's evolution all over.

Re:You have to start somewhere...

[RichardX]

You evolved from a dinosaur?
Damn, my ape based genetic heritage seems so dull and inadequate all of a sudden :(

Re:You have to start somewhere...

[Zoyd]

You evolved from a dinosaur?
Damn, my ape based genetic heritage seems so dull and inadequate all of a sudden

Actually, you did not evolve from apes. You are an ape [wikipedia.org], and you share common ancestry with other apes.

Re:You have to start somewhere...

[Hast]

True, and IIRC all us monkeys evolved from an animal quite similar to modern lemurs.

Re:You have to start somewhere...

[Zoyd]

Man is an ape, not a monkey.

mon-key

1 a : a member of the order Primates excepting man and usually also the lemurs and tarsiers b : any of the smaller longer-tailed primates (as members of the New World family Cebidae) as contrasted with the larger nearly or quite tailless apes

(M-W Unabridged 3.0)

Re:You have to start somewhere...

[owlstead]

Guys, this was a joke. Since you don't seem to get it, it was a bad joke. Please mod me down...

Re:It has to be said...

[Andy Gardner]

This poster is possibly being a little hasty, but he will not be reaffirming his allegiance to this simpsons quote due to its gratuitous appearance on /.

feh...

[jpellino]

Disney's had this for a year or so...
http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invdinosa ur.html [time.com]

Re:feh...

[millennial]

Not quite. Disney's robot was not independently bipedal - it was balanced by a huge counterweight in the cart it pulled.

So... how long until we have a bunch of these go haywire and eat people in a theme park somewhere?

P.S. ... Hey Japan, wtf? What's with the robots? Soccer players, rollerskaters, dancers, sumos, dinosaurs... where's my robot butler, eh??

Re:feh...

[cot]

"So... how long until we have a bunch of these go haywire and eat people in a theme park somewhere?"

Elementary chaos theory tells us that all robots will eventually turn against their masters and run amok, in an orgy of blood and the kicking and the biting with the metal teeth and the hurting and shoving. According to my calculations, the robots won't go berserk for at least 24 hours.

(robots go berserk)

Oh. I forgot to carry the one.

Re:feh...

[dfenstrate]

it was balanced by a huge counterweight in the cart it pulled.

Are you sure? I seem to remember the dinosaur was well-balanced, but the cart was required for processing and batteries, as the interior of the beast had been takin up by mechanics.

naw, really? disney lied to us?!

[jpellino]

so the cart doesn't mean it's just domesticated?
*ahem*
i'm sorry - someone took that post seriously?

Re:feh...

[Carrierwave]

Except that this one is actually bipedal. The Disneysaur needs to hang onto that cart or he'll topple over. Plus all the computer brains for him are hidden under the flowers in the cart. As a standalone dinosaur, he'd never work.

Didn't they see the movie

[bkhl]

You'd think the Japanese would have learned their lesson. Well, when it starts stomping Tokyo, I can say I told you so.

Now we know

[demonbug]

Where Godzilla really came from.

Re:Now we know

[Doctor Crumb]

No, you're thinking of mecha-godzilla [wikipedia.org].

OB Simpsons quote

[rsborg]

Frink: "You've got to listen to me. Elementary chaos theory tells us that all robots will eventually turn against their masters and run amok, in an orgy of blood and the kicking and the biting with the metal teeth and the hurting and shoving."
Scientist: "How much time do we have professor?"
Frink: Well, according to my calculations, the robots won't go berserk for at least 24 hours (all robots turn against the humans) ...Oh. I forgot to carry the one.

Battlebots...

[Humorously_Inept]

Dinosaur edition! I'd watch that. What better use for these robots could make than the realistic recreation of prehistoric dinosaur battles, complete with simulated thumping and roaring (and flashing LED eyes)?

So if these robots crash they are called....

[Electronik]

So if these robots crash they are called....

Japanisawawreck?

$1.8 million

[GrAfFiT]

$1.8 million, so how much does this Rent-a-Zilla cost per day ? Do I need a license from the Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division ?

Re:$1.8 million

[AndyboyH]

unfortunately I suspect there are only about 3 slashdotters that would a) recognise that reference and b) mod you for it ^^;

Re:$1.8 million

[GrAfFiT]

There's always hope ;)

Re:$1.8 million

[AndyboyH]

true

plus the t-shirt rocks ^^

Really cool but...

[Zaak]

The video looked really cool--except for the wobbling heads. If these robots were given active head stabilization (easy to do with a camera or two in the eyes controlling neck motors) they'd look very intimidating.

Also, the herbivore needs to have a bone in its crest. It looks a bit Yoda-ear-ish.

TTFN

Re:Really cool but...

[danila]

That's correct, but you miss the point (just like 90% of all posters in this thread) of the project. It's not to create amazing robosaurus. It's to showcase the technology. Over the next few years it will gradually start being used. Soon (in 10 years or so) we will have many robots that we saw and read about in sci-fi. In 20 years robots will be perfected (including humanoid robots) to the level of Bicentennial Man and I, Robot.

People are so shortsighted, it's scary. They will pretend that all these robots

Why?

[Paperweight]

Why would they spend so much money on building a robot that had no real use. Sure, it's a nice gimmick to make the news today, but 5-10 years from now they will be sitting in a warehouse or museum collecting dust. For millions of dollars. Why not build a robot that has a real, industrial or military use?

Re:Why?

[Jeremi]

What business is it of yours how they spend their money? If you want a robot with "real, industrial or military use", go build it yourself.

Geez.

Re:Why?

[Paperweight]

Don't get all defensive. I think these robots are great. I'm sure they will get a good return on their investment, because the point of them was for publicity for the developers/designers and to show off at the expo. I just hope they use this new technology to build me cheaper widgets...if you know what I mean.

Re:Why?

[hobobeaver]

I talkled to one of the reps from the people who produce NEDO at Robonexus (a large robotics confrence in Santa Clara, CA) a few months ago. Ultimately, the technology they use in developing the robots they are making now will be used for useful purposes, IE, the military or around the home. However, as of now there is no demand for this, so the keep the money flowing in, they create the robots for demo purposes. They also have sold the bipedal human robots to universites for research purposes. Just bec

Re:Why?

[WinterpegCanuck]

not build a robot that has a real, industrial or military use?

Are you trying to say you wouldn't drop your gun and sh|t yourself if you saw a bunch of these running towards you? They are by no means laser equiped sharks, but ya know what, I'd call it a day and go home.

Re:Why?

[Effexor]

You have to realize that this is just a proof of concept. Next will come full scale models. Eventually the ability to create bipedal robots will allow them to create giant warrior robots which will be piloted by japanese kids to defend the earth from aliens.. or take it over.

Loads of practical applications in that.

Re:Why?

[Paperweight]

I have to take a break once in a while.

the video is hilarious

[distantbody]

youve gotta see the video. its very funny yet amazing. the dinos would make great exhibition pieces. the fake tinny thudding sound made when the make a step is soo tacky :)

Robo Theme Parks?

[solace_d]

The robot page of the AICHI 2005 EXPO page is chalk full of children-oriented depictions: http://www-1.expo2005.or.jp/en/robot/index.html http://www-1.expo2005.or.jp/en/robot/g/robot_proje ct_02.jpg Kids worshiping the trash bot, hurrah!

Impressive.

[Auxon]

The video was awesome. They move very well, and I think it's an evident advance.

Combined with a recent Slashdot story that other recent story entitled
One "Giant Step for Humanoids" [slashdot.org] (do they mean "android"?), which
features robots that utilize gravity during walking movement in a manner closer to
humans than ever previously achieved, it seems that great strides have been made
recently in the field of robotic engineering.

[1] See - One "Giant Step for Humanoids" [slashdot.org]

Cutest. 404. Ever.

[option8]

silly buggers [tbs.co.jp], never post a direct link to a movie on slashdot...

Copyright Law

[netrangerrr]

Run! It's Godzilla! -
It Looks like Godzilla, but due to International Copyright Laws.....It's not.
Still we should run like it is Godzilla! - Though it's not.

Re:Copyright Law

[Necroist]

I miss you dave.

Forget the dinosaurs;

[Captain DaFt]

Check out the other 'bots at the site: http://www-1.expo2005.or.jp/en/robot/robot_project _01.html
(That childcare robot look's like it's about to get it's shiny metal a$$ kicked!) };-)

What's more impressive than the dinosaurs

[Illserve]

Is that these servers can host hefty videos under a full on slashdotting without missing a beat.

The technological tenacity of the Japanese is almost frightening. They're probably laughing at the tiny spike of the /. effect in their NOC, the same sort that can burn major US university and news outlet servers into cinders.

LOL

[Eric(b0mb)Dennis]

Testing slashdot banned me for a month for the comment before this :P hahaha check it out whole thread was nuked :P weird

MIT prior art

[guero]

Given that this story submission is several hours old, my post is probably going to be neglected in mod point purgatory. Nevertheless, an arguably more interesting dinosaur robot was created by Peter Dilworth at the MIT leg laboratory. See pics and vids of Troody the dinosaur robot here: http://alpha-bits.ai.mit.edu/people/chunks/chunks. html

Parasaurolophus

[Webs 101]

A robot that really imitated Parasaurolophus would be quadrupedal. Trackway evidence, as well as circumstantial evidence by way of anatomy, indicates that hadrosaurs walked on all fours.

They could rear up on two legs and probably could move around on two legs for short distances but, like the ceratopsians, they were evolving into heavier forms from lightweight ancestors that were more functionally bipedal (like Fabrosaurids, Hypsilophodontids, etc.).

Better Link to Video (English)

[dave1g]

I couldnt get the original link to work (404 error)

here ya go

English story and (japanese) video [tbs.co.jp]

Here is a direct link to the video [tbs.co.jp]

But how does it compare to...

[scottv67]

... Truckasaurus [entertainment-geekly.com]?