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Grades 4-6

Make Room for the Robots

Suzanne Zimbler

For more than 40 years, robots have worked in factories, doing jobs too boring or too dangerous for humans. Now, new robots are starting to help humans at home, at work and even at school.

When world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma announced that he would be playing with the Detroit Symphony, every seat in the house was sold. On the evening of his performance, though, it wasn't just Yo-Yo Ma that amazed the audience.

As the lights dimmed, the conductor stepped out onto the stage and lifted both arms to direct the musicians. They played a song called "The Impossible Dream." Until recently, that is exactly what a performance like this would have been. After all, ASIMO, the conductor, is only eight years old and four feet tall. It is also a robot.

The Honda scientists who built ASIMO equipped it with many abilities. It can run, climb stairs, kick a soccer ball and recognize faces. It can even help musicians make beautiful music. "The goal of the robot is to be a helper," says Honda's Alicia Jones.

ASIMO is just one of many robots being developed to perform tasks that humans usually perform. Some of the machines even have a humanoid, or human-like, appearance. Robots help out in homes and offices. They prepare food, clean floors and even serve tea.

Robot Nation

Japan has more robots than any other country. Four out of every 10 worker robots are there. The Japanese government is spending millions of dollars to build even more robots. Why the rush for more electronic helpers? More than one-fifth of Japan's population is 65 or older, so there are not enough young people in the workforce.

Many of Japan's robots are designed to interact with people. An egg-shaped robot called PaPeRo (pah-pee-ro) assists teachers by singing and reading to kids. One Japanese hospital has three shiny robots that help out in the waiting room. They greet patients, give directions and print out maps. "We feel this is a good division of labor," hospital spokesperson Naoya Narita says. "Robots won't ever be doctors, but they can be guides and receptionists."

Hardworking Machines

Robots have been creeping into daily life for years. Since the 1960s, they have been doing jobs that are too boring or too dangerous for humans. Some stand for long hours in factories, packaging food or putting together cars. Others milk cows on dairy farms all day long. These machines, called industrial robots, are often bolted to the floor. Unlike ASIMO, they do not have a humanoid appearance.

Now that robots are moving into our homes, many are starting to look more like us. Trevor Blackwell's company, Anybots, makes robots. He built a dish-washing humanoid robot called Monty. To reach the sink, Monty needed to be between five and six feet tall. The robot needed a human-like hand to pick up coffee cups. "Once you make a robot for human environments," says Blackwell, "you end up getting closer and closer to a human shape."

Colin Angle, the chief of a company called iRobot, believes that there are "few things more cool than a humanoid robot." But he points out that building robots to look like people is not always necessary. His company makes a disc-shaped vacuuming robot called the Roomba. More than 3 million Roombas are already in use.

Will the robots of the future look more like Monty or the Roomba? Either way, Blackwell is happy to hand over the boring chores. "I'd rather have a robot do dishes," he says. Wouldn't you?

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