Hiroshi Ishiguro is a Japanese engineer, creator of humanoid robots. From the series “About one hundred geniuses of our time. Who is Hiroshi Ishiguro? Hiroshi Ishiguro's childhood

Hiroshi Ishiguro is a Japanese engineer, creator of humanoid robots. From the series “About one hundred geniuses of our time. Who is Hiroshi Ishiguro? Hiroshi Ishiguro's childhood

The head of the robotics laboratory at Osaka University, Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, recently came to Moscow to speak at the TEDx Park Kultury conference “Man-2112”. Ishiguro managed to get closer to creating an interactive robot that completely copies human behavior. His robots play in the theater, talk and even give lectures. According to Ishiguro, it will be impossible to imagine life without androids in a 21st century metropolis: in the future they will be able to replace humans in almost all areas of activity. In an interview with The Village, Ishiguro explained exactly where new technologies will be used, why robots should be anthropomorphic, and how the city will change in the next decade.

ROBOTS ISHIGURO HIROSHI

ABOUT GEMINOIDS

We will no longer be able to stop in technical development. At all stages of civilization, people have improved technology to make their lives easier. Washing dishes, cleaning - this is not human work, and it must be done by robots. We have dishwashers and washing machines now, but the human brain is best suited to interact with human beings. And even small children and old people can work with the robot.

So far my project is unique, but large companies are seriously interested in my developments and, moreover, are already ready to implement these technologies in life. The first commercial application of my robots is in store windows. For example, we had one display case in Tokyo on Valentine's Day: the Geminoid F robot sat in the display window and waited for a call from her prince charming. We want to open a similar storefront in Hong Kong in the near future.

The main goal of Osaka University Robotics Laboratory is understand people.

ABOUT COMPETING WITH PEOPLE

Robots will be able to do jobs that don't require humans. And I don’t only mean purely technical things, such as cleaning or working in factories - robots will be able to read news on television and teach children at school. Yes, I believe that human teachers are not needed. The teacher's task is to convey information, and a computer will do it better than a person. Multimedia technologies make it possible to more successfully absorb information. And motivation also does not come from teachers, it appears in a person when communicating with friends: he wants to be better than his friends.

Ishiguro and his geminoid clone starred in an action movie in 2009 "Surrogates"

I am also sure that the entertainment industry will change in the future: robots, for example, will be able to act in the theater. I am convinced that they will be able to portray human emotions better than the person himself. After all, human capabilities are limited, but technological development is not. Geminoid F successfully played a small role in the theater.



Robots will even be created for sex. The Internet has become so popular because you can find porn there. 70% of searches are related to sex. People spend millions and a huge amount of time to find a partner. Moreover, I’m not sure that everyone is looking for a person who will love them. I personally don’t. So, of course, sex robots will appear. I myself do not develop such things and do not intend to, but I think there will be craftsmen.

ABOUT THE FUTURE OF CITIES

I can’t say that everything I’m talking about will appear, but it is clear that cars will increasingly enter our lives. They will change the city: driverless transport, e-tailers, musicians, actors... How soon can this happen? To answer this question, just remember how long it took for the mobile phone to penetrate our lives. Three years maximum! The same thing happened with computers and the Internet. Just imagine, our lives have completely changed in three years. And it will be the same with robots. This is a matter of five, maximum ten years.

Ishiguro is the author of more 300 publications and books

What will people do? Anything, but I don’t think there will be an unemployment problem. To be honest, I don’t think about it at all. The task of a scientist is to develop technologies, and how to use them is up to society to decide; for this purpose, round tables, expert councils, etc. are held. You know, nuclear scientists gave us nuclear power plants and the nuclear bomb, but the blame for using this bomb to harm people does not lie with the scientists.

I don't model the future, I'm not God. My task is simple - to understand myself and humanity, this is what I try to do through my research. I don’t think about what the world of the future will look like, I don’t build an ideal picture so as not to be disappointed later, I just do my job, for which I get paid. In fact, no one knows what will happen there - we are just developing technology.

ABOUT OFFICIALS

It will take two or even three hundred years before a robot can become the mayor of any city. There will also be more robots in government and government agencies. You have a lot of officials, and most of them do nothing - they just take money. This needs to stop. In Japan, for example, passport control at the border is carried out automatically, but here I saw hundreds of people doing primitive mechanical work. This shouldn't happen. However, robots will not help you defeat corruption. To defeat it, you just need to kick out the corrupt officials. There is no other way - this is not a question of technology, it is a question of the development of society.

ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND EMOTIONS

Will robots communicate with each other? In fact, my robots interact via the Internet, collaborate and exchange information. Communication with people is also possible. My robot, for example, drives

石黒浩

Career

In 1991 he defended his dissertation. Since 2003, professor at Osaka University. He heads a laboratory in which he creates robots that can coexist with people.

Awards

  • Included in the list of One Hundred Living Geniuses (2007)

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Excerpt characterizing Hiroshi Ishiguro

- Take two at a time! bring the horn here! that's it. Where are you going?
- Well, at once... Stop, guys!.. With a shout!
Everyone fell silent, and a quiet, velvety pleasant voice began to sing a song. At the end of the third stanza, at the same time as the end of the last sound, twenty voices cried out in unison: “Uuuu!” It's coming! Together! Pile on, kids!..” But, despite the united efforts, the fence moved little, and in the established silence one could hear heavy panting.
- Hey you, sixth company! Devils, devils! Help us... we will also come in handy.
Of the sixth company, about twenty people who were going to the village joined those dragging them; and the fence, five fathoms long and a fathom wide, bending, pressing and cutting the shoulders of the puffing soldiers, moved forward along the village street.
- Go, or what... Fall, Eka... What happened? This and that... The funny, ugly curses did not stop.
- What's wrong? – suddenly the commanding voice of a soldier was heard, running towards the carriers.
- Gentlemen are here; in the hut he himself was anal, and you, devils, devils, swearers. I'll! – the sergeant major shouted and hit the first soldier who turned up in the back with a flourish. – Can’t you be quiet?
The soldiers fell silent. The soldier who had been hit by the sergeant-major began, grunting, to wipe his face, which he had torn into blood when he stumbled upon a fence.
- Look, damn, how he fights! “My whole face was bleeding,” he said in a timid whisper when the sergeant-major left.
- Don’t you love Ali? - said a laughing voice; and, moderating the sounds of voices, the soldiers moved on. Having got out of the village, they spoke again just as loudly, peppering the conversation with the same aimless curses.
In the hut, past which the soldiers passed, the highest authorities had gathered, and over tea there was a lively conversation about the past day and the proposed maneuvers of the future. It was supposed to make a flank march to the left, cut off the viceroy and capture him.
When the soldiers brought the fence, kitchen fires were already flaring up from different sides. Firewood crackled, snow melted, and the black shadows of soldiers scurried back and forth throughout the occupied space trampled in the snow.

Hiroshi Ishiguro is included in the World List of “One Hundred Geniuses of Our Time.” In 2005, a scientist created an android girl who replaced his secretary. Then - a robot actress who was able to play in the theater. And in 2006, the inventor became famous for developing a copy of himself, which he called Geminoid HI-1.

“I am a professor, I teach at a university, and since then I can send an android copy in my place to give lectures - anyway, almost no one will notice the substitution,” Ishiguro winks. The famous Japanese, the “father” of humanoid robots, came to Moscow at the invitation of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) to give a lecture “Androids and our future life.” The KP correspondent was able to personally communicate with the scientist.

Excuse me, now I can definitely be sure that I’m talking with Professor Ishiguro himself, and not his android copy? - the first thing I ask is just in case.

The inventor calmly hands over a double-sided business card with photographs: “On this side is me, the original, and on the back is my Geminoid HI-1. Similar?".

- Not that word!

“My “colleague” not only gives lectures in his homeland, but also has given performances abroad - in India, Norway and several other countries,” the scientist continues. - It is very comfortable. True, he travels on the plane not in human form, but disassembled, folded into a couple of suitcases. Can you imagine how customs officers feel when they see a human head in their luggage? But, seriously, as a rule, everyone knows that this is a scientific cargo, and no questions arise.

- Tell us about your latest, newest work.

This is a robot copy of a famous wealthy woman from China. She wants to become a singer, and I created a copy that can master singing skills perfectly. And then the prototype woman will be able to reap the fruits of fame.

- So, your androids are more like entertainment for the rich?

Not at all. Firstly, while these are not commercial projects, the prototype people do not pay for them. Although, in principle, such an opportunity already exists - right now, if you wish, you can order me your copy - the inventor suggests either jokingly or seriously.

- I'm afraid I don't have enough money.

On average, the development and production of one android costs about 100 thousand dollars, says Ishiguro. - But remember how sky-high the first cars, computers, and mobile phones were. And then the technologies moved into mass production, and previously unique technological innovations turned from luxury items into accessible to everyone - many now have several cars and smartphones.

But these are vital things that we cannot do without. Is there an urgent need for humanoid robots for everyone?

Oh, they open up the broadest horizons for us! I am sure that in the near future - literally in 10 years, most of us, just as we now own personal computers, will have personal humanoid robots. And it will no longer be possible to imagine life without them - just as now we cannot imagine it without laptops and smartphones.

Hiroshi Ishiguro (石黒浩) is one of the founders of robotics in general and android engineering in particular. He serves as the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, which is part of the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, Japan. One of the main areas of scientific research at Osaka University is the development of androids, robots that resemble people both in appearance and in behavior.

Hiroshi Ishiguro believes that when developing robots, along with developing behavior and decision-making algorithms, no less attention should be paid to their appearance.
“I created a lot of robots and realized how important their appearance is. Robots that look like people feel like they’re alive.”

He also made an android version of himself and called it Geminoid. I even set this android to give lectures at the institute instead of myself. In addition, Dr. Ishiguro took an active part in such projects as: Repliee, Actroid, HRP-4C.

He can also be seen in films such as: Mechanical Love, Plug & Pray, Samsara.

The famous scientist, creator of geminoids and telenoids, head of the robotics laboratory at Osaka University (Japan), Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, will visit the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) and give two open lectures.

Professor Ishiguro will give lectures at Skoltech. Poster: Skoltech

On May 14 from 14:00 to 15:30, Professor Ishiguro will give a lecture “Androids and our future life.” On May 15 from 12:00 to 14:00 there will be a lecture “Adaptation to radio-controlled anthropomorphic robots.”

Hiroshi Ishiguro was born in 1964 and became involved in robotics in the 1990s. In 1991, he received a PhD in Engineering from the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, then worked at the universities of Kyoto, California, and Wakayama. In 2003, he headed the robotics laboratory at Osaka University.

Hiroshi Ishiguro became widely known for his work in the field of creating “realistic” robots and his performances at numerous exhibitions and conferences. One of his most famous creations is his “double” - an interactive robot that almost completely copies human behavior and looks like Professor Ishiguro himself. Robots created by the scientist play in the theater, talk and even give lectures.

The Android, created in the image and likeness of Professor Ishigura, appeared back in 2006 and was called Geminoid HI-1. This robot is so advanced that it can replace a professor in teaching at Osaka University - but students do not immediately notice the substitution.

In 2009, Professor Ishiguro created the female robot Geminoid F, which can, for example, act as a secretary in an office or greet guests at the entrance to a restaurant. She smiles, looks at her interlocutor, blinks, talks. In 2010, through the work of Hiroshi Ishiguru, a “telenoid” the size of a child appeared, and in 2011, an “elfoid” was released - a mini-robot that fits in the palm of your hand.

Hiroshi Ishiguro strives to reveal the secrets of cognition, communication, and perception. Do humanoid robots scare people and how can they overcome this fear? Will androids be able to replace humans in uninteresting jobs that do not require creativity? What is a person and what is a robot? The professor raises these and many other questions in his works.

In his lecture at Skoltech, Professor Ishiguro, one of the pioneers in the study of interactive robots, will touch on an important topic: what awaits us in the near future with the penetration of robots into our society. The professor will talk about the possibilities of the robotic world and introduce listeners to androids, which will very soon penetrate many areas of our lives.