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Waseda University
ItalyItaly-Japan 2001 Workshop
HUMANOIDS
A TechnoTechno-Ontological Approach
Book of Abstracts
November 21st, 2001
International Conference Center, Waseda University, Tokyo
http://www-arts.sssup.it/ItalyinJapan
www.italjapan2001.it
www.love-italy.net
Supported by the Italian Embassy in Tokyo,
by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research and
by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Italy-Japan 2001 Workshop: ‘HUMANOIDS: A Techno-Ontological Approach’
Table of Contents
Workshop Committees ................................................................................................ 4
Foreword..................................................................................................................... 5
Workshop Schedule..................................................................................................... 6
Addresses by: ............................................................................................................. 8
List of Invited Speakers............................................................................................... 8
Speakers’ Biographies and Abstracts......................................................................... 9
Paolo Dario ..........................................................................................................10
The Dream of Humanoids in the Homeland of the Innovative Engineers of
Renaissance.........................................................................................................11
Giulio Sandini........................................................................................................13
From Humans to Humanoids ...............................................................................14
Maria Chiara Carrozza..........................................................................................15
Functional Replacement and Humanoids Robotics: the Fusion of Natural and
Artificial Hardware ................................................................................................16
Hideaki Takanobu ................................................................................................17
Dental Humanoid Robots .....................................................................................18
Atsuo Takanishi....................................................................................................19
Humanoid Robots and Society in Japan ...............................................................20
Eugenio Guglielmelli .............................................................................................21
Introduction to Humanoids Design.......................................................................22
Shunji Yamanaka..................................................................................................23
"Cyclops" – for considering about ‘intelligent life-likeness’..................................25
Hiroaki Kitano.......................................................................................................26
Designing the humanoid for personal and artistic use ........................................27
Vincenzo Tagliasco ..............................................................................................28
From Artificial Body to Artificial Mind....................................................................29
Masao Kurosaki....................................................................................................30
WHAT IS so-called "MIND" IN ROBOT? .................................................................31
Jose M. Galvan......................................................................................................35
Techno-ethics: Acceptability and Social Integration of Artificial Creatures ...........36
3
Workshop Committees
Chairs:
Paolo Dario
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
Atsuo Takanishi
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
ItalyItaly-Japan Scientific Committee:
Committee:
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna:
Paolo Dario
Eugenio Guglielmelli
Maria Chiara Carrozza
Cecilia Laschi
Waseda University:
Atsuo Takanishi
Hideaki Takanobu
Local Organising Committee:
Hideaki Takanobu, Cecilia Laschi
Related event: IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots –
Humanoids 2001, Waseda University, November 22-24, 2001
(http://www.humanoid.waseda.ac.jp/Humanoids2001)
4
Foreword
The Workshop ‘HUMANOIDS: A Techno-Ontological Approach’ is promoted by the
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa, Italy) in the framework of the cultural events ‘Italy
in Japan 2001’.
The Workshop is officially supported and sponsored by the Italy in Japan Foundation,
the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), the Italian Embassy in Tokyo, and the
Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR).
The organization of the Workshop has also been substantially supported by the
Waseda University in Tokyo which provided direct collaboration for the definition of
the scientific program, the promotion in Japan, and which has kindly made available
the venue for the event.
The Workshop is organized around a selected number of invited talks, given by both
Italian and Japanese speakers. They present recent research achievements and
design approaches in Japan and Italy, as a starting point to compare the different
and multi-faceted socio-cultural implications in the Western and Far Eastern
countries. For this reason, not only roboticists but also philosophers, theologists
and industrial designers contribute to the workshop, providing in-depth analysis of
multidisciplinary critical factors which could affect the successful development of
humanoids as machines fully useful and acceptable to humans. The workshop is
concluded by a panel discussion with participation of speakers and experts, enriched
by the different cultural backgrounds of the expected audience.
In the hope that the workshop can provide novel and precious indications for further
research in humanoid robotics, we wish all the attendees a fruitful participation.
Paolo Dario
Atsuo Takanishi
Tokyo, November 2001
5
Workshop Schedule
9.00 Welcome Address:
Address Prof. Katsuhiko Shirai, Vice-Rector, Waseda University,
Tokyo
9.15 Opening Address:
Address Prof. Riccardo Varaldo, Director, Scuola Superiore
Sant’Anna, Pisa
9.30 Welcome Address:
Address Dr. Angelo Volpi, Scientific Attaché, Italian Embassy,
Tokyo
9.35 Morning Opening Lecture
The Dream of Humanoids in the Homeland of the Innovative Engineers of
Renaissance,
Prof. Paolo Dario, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
10.00 Session I – Technology
Chair: Prof. Paolo Dario, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
10.00 From Humans to Humanoids,
Prof. Giulio Sandini, University of Genova
10.30 How can we use "Human Shape" in Humanoid Application?
Application?, Dr. Kazuo Tanie,
AIST
11.00 Coffee break
11.15 Functional Replacement and Humanoid Robotics: the Fusion of Natural and
Artificial Hardware, Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
11.45 Dental Humanoid Robots,
Robots
Prof. Hideaki Takanobu, Kogakuin University
12.15 Lunch
Lunch
A spot on the Humanoid Society:
Society
Exhibition and demonstration of prototypes
6
13.15 Afternoon Opening Lecture
Humanoid Robots and Society in Japan
Prof. Atsuo Takanishi, Waseda University
13.45 Session II – Design
Chair: Prof. Atsuo Takanishi, Waseda University
13.45 Introduction to Humanoids Design,
Prof. Eugenio Guglielmelli, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
14.00 "Cyclops" - for considering about 'intelligent lifelife-likeness',
likeness'
Mr. Shunji Yamanaka, Leading Edge Design Corp.
14.30 Intelligent Ambient,
Ambient Dr. Fabrizio Davide, Telecom Italia
15.00 Designing
Designing the humanoid for personal and artistic use
Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, Sony CSL
15.30 Coffee Break
15.45 Session III – Philosophy
Chair: Prof. Paolo Dario, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
15.45 From
Mind,
From Artificial Body to Artificial Mind
Prof. Vincenzo Tagliasco, University of Genova
16.15 What is SoRobot?, Prof. Masao Kurosaki, Tokyo Women's
So-called "Mind" in Robot?
Christian University
17.00 TechnoTechno-Ethics: Acceptability and Social Integration of Artificial
Artificial Creatures,
Prof. Don Josè Galvàn, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Vatican State
17.30 Congratulatory Address:
Address Prof. Takayasu Okushima, President, Waseda
University
17.45 Panel Discussion (all speakers): Analogies and Differences between Italy
Italy
and Japan on the Opportunities and Acceptability of Humanoid Robotics
18.45 End of the Workshop
7
Addresses by:
(in alphabetical order)
Prof. Takayasu Okushima, President, Waseda University
Prof. Katsuhiko Shirai, Vice-Rector, Waseda University
Prof. Riccardo Varaldo, Director, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
List of Invited Speakers
(in alphabetical order)
Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
Prof. Paolo Dario, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
Dr. Fabrizio Davide, Telecom Italia SpA, Roma, Italy
Prof. Don Josè Galvàn, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Vatican State
Prof. Eugenio Guglielmelli, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, Sony CSL, Tokyo, Japan
Prof. Masao Kurosaki, Tokyo Women's Christian University, Japan
Prof. Giulio Sandini, Università di Genova, Italy
Prof. Vincenzo Tagliasco, Università di Genova, Italy
Prof. Atsuo Takanishi, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Prof. Hideaki Takanobu, Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
Dr. Kazuo Tanie, AIST, Tsukuba, Japan
Mr. Shunji Yamanaka, Leading Edge Technology Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
8
Speakers’ Biographies and Abstracts
9
Paolo Dario
Paolo Dario received the Dr. Eng. Degree in mechanical
engineering from the University of Pisa in 1977. He is Full
Professor of Biomedical Robotics at the SSSA, and the Director
of the ARTS Lab (Advanced Robotics Technology and Systems
Laboratory) and of the MiTech Lab (Microengineering and
Microfabrication Technologies Laboratory) of the SSSA, where
he supervises a team of about 70 researchers and Ph.D.
students.
Prof. Dario has been visiting Assistant Professor at Brown
University, USA, and visiting scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. He
was also awarded a fellowship from AIST (Japan) at the MEL Laboratory in Tsukuba as a
Foreign Expert in Robotics in 1988, a position of Invited Professor of Robotics at the Ecole
Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, in 1993, and a position of Visiting
Professor (“Toshiba Chair”) of Bio-Mechatronics at Waseda University, in 1995.
His main research interests are in the fields of bio-robotics, mechatronics and
microengineering.
He is the co-ordinator of many national and European projects, the editor of two books on
the subject of robotics, and the author of more than 200 scientific papers. He is PresidentElect of the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society, in which he also serves as Associate Editor
of the Transactions and co-chair of the Technical Committee on Medical Robotics.
In 1987 Prof. Dario received the 8th HUSPI International Award for a research on
"integrated sensory systems in robotics and prosthetics", and in 1996 the “Joseph
Engelberger Award” for New Technologies in Robotics, awarded from RIA (the Robotics
Industries Association).
Prof. Dario serves in the Steering Committee of the IEEE/ASME Journal of
Microelectromechanical Systems, and in the Editorial Boards of the “Journal of Robotic
Systems”, the “Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics”, “Advanced Robotics”, “Autonomous
Robots”
and
“Biomedical
Microdevices”. He is also a founding
co-editor of the “Journal of MicroMechatronics”, and the co-editor of
the Focused Issue on MicroMechatronics of the “IEEE/ASME
Transactions of Mechatronics”. He
holds 5 patents in the U.S., 1 patent
in the Netherlands, and 4 patents in
Italy.
10
The Dream of Humanoids in the Homeland of the Innovative Engineers
of Renaissance
Historically, the dream of Man of understanding the essence and
functioning of living creatures, and then of fabricating living artefacts,
and has been pursued in different eras and by different cultures from
very ancient times. Examples date back to the first attempts in Ancient
Greece, up to the work by the Engineers of Renaissance, and especially
by Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo studied human anatomy and
biomechanics, but he also designed and demonstrated different
automata, mostly for entertainment in public events, and as a proof of
his engineering capabilities. In fact, this was also the main motivation of
the Swiss watchers who built, in the 17th Century, automatic dolls able to
autonomously write, play piano, and give other evidence of the mechanical design ability of their
makers.
Humanoid Robotics today has a broader scope: it does not include only the Humanoid as Artificial
Man, but also some hybrid configurations that technology makes possible today. The integration of
artificial parts into human bodies, as well as the control of paralized natural limbs by electrical
stimulation, are investigated by the research community with increasing success.
Four main streams can be identified in the development of humanoids: 1) helpful robots, 2)
companion/entertainment robots, 3) robots as models to investigate Man, 4) anthropomorphic
general purpose robots.
But some questions are still open.
Is the development of humanoids still a challenge for human creativity and a demonstration of
scientific understanding and advanced technology, as it was for Leonardo? Are humanoid robots
more helpful? Is anthropomorphism the technically best-suited solution? Is it the most socially
acceptable? Will humanoids be able to effectively replace humans in hazardous, or unpleasant,
activities? Can bionic components improve the quality of life of human beings? Are robotic models of
biological systems helpful, or necessary, to thoroughly investigate living beings?
These questions certainly need further research and achievements to be fully addressed, and
convincing technical solutions have to be demonstrated.
What is undoubted is that a variety of implications arise when investigating humanoids: from
technological challenges, to psychological and ergonomic requirements, to ethical constraints,
philosophical analysis and socio-economic considerations. Answers to questions on humanoids
research cannot be given without taking into account all such implications: there are cultural barriers
in the introduction of humanoids in the Human Society, a proper paradigm of the human-robot
relationship has to be identified, a proper balance between humanoids aspect and functionality needs
to be designed and an ethics for humanoid research and for humanoids should be defined: Could
humanoids become conscious? Could they become alive? Will they become a menace to Mankind?
What about their rights and duties? Who will be responsible for their work?
The challenging problems related to the development of humanoids and the multi-faceted
implications they generate reflect a very important societal requirement: the need for a new kind of
engineer: the new “Renaissance Engineer” of the Third Millenium. Just like the Innovative Engineers
of Renaissance, the new generations of engineers, and especially of bioengineers, should be
educated to be highly inter-disciplinary, rather than to rely on high specialization. They should be
open to cultural cross-fertilizations: not only focused towards technical knowledge, but able to apply
11
to machine design the concepts and models provided by the study of Nature and of humanities.
“Represent Man and the concept of his Mind”: the lesson of Leonardo is still alive.
12
Giulio Sandini
LIRA-Lab, DIST - University of Genova ([email protected])
The leading theme of my research activity has
been visual perception and sensorimotor
coordination from a biological and an artificial
perspective Soon after graduation in Electronic
Engineering in 1975, I was a researcher at the
“Institute of Neurophysiology” of the CNR in Pisa
where I studied human visual perception and the
properties of visual cortical neurons in cats.
During a two year period at the Department of
Neurology of the Harvard Medical School, I was
involved in clinical investigation of learning
disabilities through the use of a new
computerized techniques for the analysis of
brain electrical activity mapping. I became a full
time researcher at the Scuola Normale in Pisa in
1980 working at the Institute of Neurophysiology of the CNR.
In 1987 I became Associate Professor at the faculty of Engineering of the University
of Genova where I started my research activity in the modeling of visuomotor
coordination in both software and hardware. Since then I teach the course of
“Natural and Artificial Intelligent Systems”. In the last 5 years the main topic of my
research activity has been the study of human sensorimotor development through
the use of artificial systems. The distinctive approach we are following is based on
the use of hardware models to understand the computational basis of brain activity.
With our baby humanoid “Babybot we have contributed to the study of development
of eye movements control, visuo-inertial integration, eye-head coordination, visually
guided reaching. These research activities have been carried out in collaboration
with leading neurophysiology labs through national and international formalized
research projects as well as through exchange of students and researcher. Since
1990 I coordinate the activity of the LIRA-Lab (www.lira.dist.unige.it) supported
mostly by grants of the European Union, the Italian Ministry of Research, the Italian
Space Agency.
13
From Humans to Humanoids
G. Sandini, G. Metta, L. Natale, F. Panerai, S. Rao, R. Manzotti
The role of technology for the study of brain functions has always been fundamental
in providing new tools for the acquisition/analysis of biological data. However the
increasingly complex picture of brain functions emerging from neuroscience research
is now posing a new challenge: how to extend our knowledge beyond the scope of
specific experiments and methodologies? Is it possibile to find new tools enabling
neuroscientists to verify new theories and to guide new experiments beyond the,
now established, methods of mathematical modeling and system’s theory? The
scientific goal of the LIRA-Lab is to investigate if the implementation of artificial
systems through physical models is a useful tool to help understanding complex
brain functions. The reasons why we believe that this is indeed the case are,
essentially, two. The first stems from the very high complexity and non-homogeneity
of our current knowledge of brain functions. The second is that the physical world (in
a general sense) is far too complicated to be ``simulated'' realistically preventing
adequate testing of new theories and ideas to be performed.
In the context of human cognition, implementing ``artificial systems'' as explicit
physical models of biological ones means implementing humanoid systems. Not with
the aim of building an ``artificial human being'' or more efficient robots but to test
assumptions and hypothesis more explicitly. In particular the use of humanoids as
tools to understand human cognition, is focused, in our lab, on trying to explain how
adaptation develops through interaction with the external environment (we believe
that adaptive behaviors cannot be pre-programmed). Our reference framework is
human sensorimotor and cognitive development. Our
humanoid robot “Babybot” is composed of a binocular head,
a 6 degrees of freedom arm, two ears, a vestibular system
and proprioception from all degrees of freedom. So far we
mainly focused on the development of sensorimotor
coordination and, more specifically: oculomotor control
through the use of a robot head equipped with space-variant
retina-like sensors, vergence control and the integration of
visual and inertial data in the context of Vestibulo-Ocular
reflex, visually guided reaching.
Metta, G., G. Sandini, and J. Konczak. A Developmental Approach to Sensori-motor
Coordination in Artificial Systems. in IEEE Conference on System, Man and
Cybernetics. 1998. San Diego (USA).
Metta, G., G. Sandini, and J. Konczak, A Developmental Approach to Visually-Guided
Reaching in Artificial Systems. Neural Networks, 1999. 12(10):
p. 1413-1427.
12
14
Maria Chiara Carrozza
Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza received the Laurea
Degree in Physics from the University of Pisa in
1990. In 1991 she joined the robotic (ARTS Lab)
and the biomedical microengineering (MiTech Lab)
laboratories at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in
Pisa. In July 2001 she became Associate Professor
in Biomedical Robotics at Scuola Superiore
Sant'Anna. Her research interests are in the field of
biomedical microengineering (microinstruments for
biomedical application), and rehabilitation
engineering (robotic systems for personal
assistance, artificial limbs, and domotic and robotic
aids for disabled and elderly). She is member of the IEEE Society of Engineering in
Medicine and Biology and of the IEEE Society of Robotics and Automation. She is the
scientific co-ordinator of research projects in the field of rehabilitation engineering at
ARTS Lab and at INAIL RTR Research Centre on rehabilitation Engineering.
15
Functional Replacement and Humanoids Robotics: the Fusion of Natural
and Artif
Artificial
icial Hardware
The presentation is aimed at introducing how the concept of humanoid robot is
interpreted and investigated in Italy and in particular at Arts Lab.
Recent progress in microengineering, bioengineering, microelectronics and
computer science have provided “enabling technologies” for the development of
basic components of a humanoid robot. For example, following an approach of pure
functional replacement we can imagine to fabricate the building blocks of a
humanoid robot starting from artificial organs (artificial heart, skin...), and artificial
limbs (hands, legs...). Even if there are still several theoretical and technical
problems to be solved, related for example to energy sources, actuators
performance and sensors fabrication, a definite trend towards the development of
human-like components can be seen from results of ongoing research.
It is clear that the objective of integrating building blocks in a real humanoid robots
aimed at reproducing as much as possible the architecture, the morphology and the
behavior of humans open up not only several important technological problems but
also ethical issues:
why creating a humanoid robot?
We think that as we are engineers, we can answer to this question by going back to
the ultimate aim of bioengineering which is devoted to the service of humans. The
approach followed at ARTS Lab is focused on human robotics which is aimed at
investigating robotic systems, models and tools for the human being. The word
“human” identifies the common framework for research done at ARTS Lab in the
fields of computer assisted surgery, rehabilitation bioengineering, motor control and
microengineering.
The presentation will be concluded with an introduction to research projects
currently ongoing at ARTS Lab in the field of functional replacement and cybernetic
artificial hands and their implications with clinical practice, as examples of
applications of human robotics concepts.
16
Hideaki Takanobu
Assistant Professor of Kogakuin University (Department of Mechanical Systems
Engineering, School of Engineering)
Hideaki Takanobu was born in 1967 in Japan. He
received bachelor degree in 1991, master degree in
1993, and Ph. D. in 1998 from Waseda University.
From 1998 to 2001, he was research associate of
Waseda University. He is assistant professor of
Kogakuin University since 2001. He is also a visiting
researcher of Humanoid Robotics Institute (HRI) and
Institute for Health Science and Engineering of
Waseda University. His research interests are
medical/dental robotics, humanoid robotics, and
bioengineering. He is researching mastication robot, mouth opening and closing
training robot, humanoid head robot, and speech robot. Dr. Takanobu is a member
of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, IEEE SMC Society, Robotics Society of
Japan (RSJ), Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) etc.
Dr. Takanobu’s web site is: http://kiko.mech.kogakuin.ac.jp/~takanobu/
Kogakuin University
17
Dental Humanoid Robots
This paper describes two models: Doctor
and Patient models for Dental Robotics.
Doctor Model:
Remote training is useful for the patients
who have difficulties to go to hospitals
frequently. The authors have developed a
master-slave training system using ISDN
Mastication Robot
lines because ISDN is not difficult to come
by in patient’s home. Mouth-opening and -closing training robot WY-5R (Waseda
Yamanashi-5 Refined) realized the remote training via two ISDN lines with 128 kbps.
As a result of remote therapy using WY-5R, two patients’ mouth-opening and –
forward distances increased.
Patient Model:
The authors developed a skull robot WOJ-1R (Waseda Okino Jaws No.1 Refined) as a
mechanical patient simulator. This skull robot will be useful for the doctor to develop
the strategy of training for the real human patient. Also, it will quantitatively clarify
the effectiveness of the robot’s therapy compared with therapy by human.
Experimental result of biting force comparison, robot therapy’s force data acting on
the skull robot was smaller than the conventional therapy by human.
These are joint researches with Prof. Atsuo Takanishi of Waseda University, Prof.
Masatoshi Ohnishi and Prof. Kayoko Ohtsuki of Yamanashi Medical University.
H. Takanobu, K. Nakamura, A. Takanishi, K. Ohtsuki, D. Ozawa, M. Ohnishi, A. Okino: Human Skull
Robot as a Mechanical Patient Simulator for Mouth Opening and Closing Training, IROS2001, 2001.
Patient-Doctor table
Dental Humanoid Robots
18
Atsuo Takanishi
Humanoid Robotics Institute & Department of Mechanical Engineering, Waseda
University
ATSUO TAKANISHI is a Professor of the Department
of Mechanical Engineering at Waseda University and
a concurrent Professor and one of the core members
of the HRI (Humanoid Robotics Institute), Waseda
University. He received the B.S.E. degree in 1980,
the M.S.E. degree in 1982 and the Ph.D. degree in
1988, all in Mechanical Engineering from Waseda
University.
His current are of research are related to Humanoid Robots and Cyborgs, such as
the bipedal walking robots WL(Waseda Leg) series and a biped humanoid robot
WABIAN(Waseda Bipedal humANoid) having 43 degrees of freedom, the mastication
robots WJ(Waseda Jaw) series which mechanically simulate human mastication for
clarifying hypotheses in dentistry and jaw opening trainer robots WY(Waseda
Yamanashi) series for patients having difficulties in jaw opening, the flute playing
robots WF(Waseda Flutist) series to quantitatively analyze human flute playing by
collaborating with a professional flutist, anthropomorphic robots heads WE(Waseda
Eye) series which emotionally behave like a human based upon the Equations of
Emotion, the anthropomorphic talking robot head WT(Waseda Talker) which
mechanically speaks Japanese vowels and consonant sounds with a special
mechanism designed based on the human anatomy of the vocal cords and the
articulators, and the other themes related to his research area.
He is a member of Robotics Society of Japan (a board member in 1992 and 1993),
Japanese Society of Biomechanisms, Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineers,
Japanese Society of Instrument and Control Engineers and Society of Mastication
Systems (a board member from 1996 to current), IEEE and other medicine and
dentistry related societies in Japan.
He received the Best Paper Award from Robotic Society
Japan(RSJ) in 1998, the ROBOMECH Award from RSJ
and Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1998,
the Finalist of Best Paper Award in ICRA1999 from IEEE
and RSJ in 1999 and the Best of Asia Award from
BusinessWeek Magazine in 2001, etc.
19
Humanoid Robots and Society in Japan
The speaker and his co-workers at Waseda University
have been doing research on humanoid robots for
more than a quarter of a century. By constructing
humanoid robots that behave like human, we are
attempting to develop a design method of a humanoid
robot having human friendliness to communicate with
humans naturally as well as to elucidate not only the
physical but also the mental mechanism of a human
from the engineering point of view.
Even though the total amount is still small, application
fields of robots are gradually spreading from the
manufacturing/secondary industry to the others in recent years. One can now easily
expect that the robots will diffuse/expand to the first and the third industrial fields as
a key component for our society in the 21st century. Also there raises strong
anticipation in Japan that robots for the personal use will coexist with humans and
provide support such as the assistance for the housework, care of the aged or the
physically handicapped in Japan which is the fastest aging society in the world.
Consequently, humanoid robots and/or animal-like robots have been treated as
objects of robotics researches as a research tool for human science, as an
entertainment robot, as an assistant or an agent in the human living environment.
The speaker believes that “A Human-likeness (Anthropomorphism)” is inevitably
demanded of the robot for personal uses like those mentioned above. The robot has
to coexist naturally with a human as a partner, for example to help human’s daily life
in our living environment. For that coexistence, communication is one of the most
important key word. It is essential and natural that a human is the most familiar with
communicating with other humans. In the human-to-human communication, emotion
is a very important factor which affects whether
communication is succeed or not between humans.
Therefore, anthropomorphism not only on the physical
structure but also on the psychological structure of
those kinds of robots is extremely important for natural
human-robot communication from that point of view.
In the invited speech, the speaker will introduce his
humanoid robots that have been being developed in
his laboratory for years and try to visualize the future
market of humanoid robots and society in Japan in the
new century.
20
Eugenio Guglielmelli
Born in 1965 in Cosenza, Italy. He received the Laurea Degree
in Electronic Engineering and the Ph.D. degree in Electronic,
Telecommunication and Computer Science Engineering from
the University of Pisa in 1991 and 1995, respectively. He is
currently Associate Professor of Industrial Bioengineering at
the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, (Italy).
In 1989, he joined the Advanced Robotics Technology and Systems Laboratory
(ARTS Lab) of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, co-ordinated by Prof. Paolo Dario,
where he joined and managed many basic and applied research projects in
Biomedical Engineering, with special focus on the fields of biomedical robotics,
technologies and mechatronic systems for biomedical applications, humanoid and
personal robotics, innovative biomorph systems for industrial automation.
At the ARTS Lab, in the period 1991-1994 he was involved in the design and
development of the first Italian mobile robotic platform for healthcare applications,
the URMAD system, in the framework of the Progetto Finalizzato Robotica (Special
Project on Robotics) promoted by the Italian National Research Council. In the
period 1994-1997 he was involved in the design and development of the MOVAID
system, the first European modular robotic platform for household and personal
applications.
His main research interests are mainly focused in the field of humanoid and personal
robots and of bio-mechatronic systems, and include rehabilitation robotics, sensors
and actuators for robotics and biomedical applications, friendly man-machine
interfaces, human factors, new methodologies for robot design, telematic services
for elderly and disabled, innovative tools for rehabilitation and vocational training.
He has been appointed as Program Cochair of the 1999 Humanoid Robotics
Conference, Waseda University, Tokyo,
October (HURO99) and member of the
Program Committee of the 2002
International Conference on Robotics
and Automation (ICRA, Washington,
USA). He has been Visiting Researcher
at the Waseda University.
He has authored/co-authored more
than 60 papers appeared in
international journals, books and
conference proceedings.
21
Introduction to Humanoids Design
The major evolution of robotics occurred in the framework of industrial manufacturing, which
have been representing the main pulling force of research and development for years. Major
concerns in industrial robotics are efficiency, effectiveness, speed, accuracy, and other
technical parameters which may affect production pace. Limited effort is devoted in the
design of friendly human-robot interfaces and safe human-robot interaction mechanisms:
users are typically professionals purposively employed (and trained) to program and
operate the machines, and environmental conditions can be controlled in order to avoid
dangerous interaction of robots with human beings.
When robots started to come out of factories, employed in a variety of service tasks,
additional requirements emerged, in order to provide the robots with the capability of
behaving in unstructured environments and, eventually, in the presence of human beings.
But operators of service robots are still mostly professionals, so the interaction can be still
well defined and systematized.
In fact, the opportunity of applying service robots in personal assistance has been
envisaged soon, and attempts have been performed in developing robots for assisting
disabled and elderly people since the early stage of robotics development. In this case,
design concerns change radically: even though from a technical standpoint the same
problems related to the robot capabilities need to be managed, additional requirements are
introduced by the acceptability of the robot, which is now proposed to end users, with no
special training or experience, willing to friendly, effectively and easily interact with their
robotic assistant. A substantial change is needed in robot design, to be afforded by the
integration of multiple expertise, including industrial design, psychology, anthropology,
cognitive engineering, human factors, occupational biomechanics.
This evolution of robotics is somehow based on the evolution of our need of helpful
machines and of their possible applications, according to technological state-of-te-art. But
today we are assisting to a more dramatic modification of the motivations for robotics
research and development. Robotics is investigated in the attempt to replicate Man, or
biological systems in general, to increase the knowledge about Nature. Not only physical
appearance, but also behavioral characteristics, sensori-motor coordination, and even highlevel cognitive capabilities are trying to be reproduced in this new generation of artificial
systems: the humanoids.
To this aim, further expertise needs to be integrated and new methodologies should be
identified in the field of robot design, providing intimate knowledge on biological systems:
neuro-physiology, ethology, biology, psychology, and
others. Main design concerns, still including those related
to the robot performance, are the physical aspect, the
perception-action scheme, the modalities for humanrobot interaction. The ARTS Humanoid Robotics
project aims at applying a new paradigm of robot
design in the development of a human-like artefact,
able to interact with its environment and with human
beings effectively, friendly and safely.
22
Shunji Yamanaka
Industrial Designer
1957
Born in Japan.
1982 Graduated from Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, the University of Tokyo.
1982 to 1987 Worked for Nissan Motor
Co., Ltd. as an exterior designer.
1987 Left Nissan and started activities
as a freelance industrial designer.
1991-1994 Was appointed associate
professor at the University of Tokyo.
And is now the president of LED Corporation. Judging committee of "Good Design
Award" by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry
Work includes the design of a variety of leading edge products and devices such as,
automobiles, cameras, wristwatches, trains, furniture, and many kinds of electronic
devices.
Work list
OLYMPUS "O-product", a fully automatic compact camera put into production in
1988.
SEIKO "ASTERISK", a luxury seiko for business executives, entered production in
1988.
OLYMPUS "Ecru", a fully automatic compact camera, 1991.
NISSAN "TRI-X”: An advanced coupe design concept car exhibited in 1991.
Arflex "KITE, Chair series designed for Arflex in 1994.
JR East "TRY-Z", an inter-city high speed engine for Japan Railway, 1995.
"Studio Table", furniture system for Future University-Hakodate, 2000
"Tagtype", a new system for entering Japanese text into a computer, 2000.
JR East "Automatic ticket gate system using IC card", 2001
23
Issey Miyake "Insetto", High-class wristwatch, 2001.
24
"Cyclops" – for considering about ‘intelligent lifelife-likeness’
Cyclops is an human-shaped, interactive
machine equipped with a flexible spine and a
single eye. It will be exhibited at the Robot
Meme Exhibition, from Dec 1st to Feb 11th, in
the National Museum of Emerging Science and
Innovation in Tokyo.
Cyclops has the same kind of flexible spine as
humans. It’s made up of multiple spherical joints
that are controlled by about thirty “air muscles”
(artificial muscles that move through air
pressure) along the spine. Cyclops’ single eye
(CCD camera) is connected to a computer that
analyses the images the eye ‘sees.’ The eye is
able to distinguish specified colours and shapes, and, controlled by twenty-four
electromagnetic air valves, Cyclops’ whole body moves and changes its posture to
track what its eye sees. Cyclops can’t follow quick moves. If you notice that Cyclops
is looking at you, try and move slowly within a bright area.
Cyclops doesn’t have the intelligent features that would give
cause to call it a ‘robot.’ Reflect on the meaning of ‘intelligent lifelikeness’ while experiencing this human-shaped machine’s look
and smooth movements.
Key point at designing Cyclops:
Design of the Look
Humans are sensitive to the look of other people’s eyes. The
eyes’ movements are a mirror of their owner’s intellect and
help other people guess one’s thoughts. The psychological
effect Cyclops’ look has on people is an important key for
future interface design of highly intelligent machines.
Design of Smooth Motion
As a nerve centre and a prop of the whole body, the
backbone is an elemental support of advanced creatures’
pliant motion. Since Cyclops is equipped with a spine that’s
constructed like that of humans, it can bend and twist its
body. Cyclops doesn’t have functional hands or feet, and was
conceived only focusing on the basics of living beings’
smooth motion.
25
Hiroaki Kitano, Ph.D.
ERATO Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project, JST and Sony CSL
Hiroaki Kitano is a senior researcher at Sony
Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. and a
Project Director of Kitano Symbiotic Systems
Project, Japan Science and Technology
Corporation. He is also a president of The
RoboCup Federation. He received a B.A. in
physics from the International Christian
University, Tokyo, and a Ph.D. in computer
science from Kyoto University. Since 1988, he
has been a visiting researcher at the Center for
Machine Translation at Carnegie Mellon
University. Kitano received The Computers and
Thought Award from the International Joint
Conferences on Artificial Intelligence in 1993,
Prix Ars Electronica 2000, Japan Design
Culture Award 2001, Good Design Award
Kitano Project Office
2001. He was an invited artist for La Biennale
di Venezia 2000, Worksphere exhibition at
MoMA in 2001. His research interests include AI, Robotics, and Systems Biology.
PINO @ home
morph
26
Designing
Designing the humanoid for personal and artistic use
Robots in the recent context, apart from
traditional factory automation robot systems,
emphasize use in the home, office, and artistic
scene, including Sony’s AIBO. The authors have
developed a series of humanoid, including
“PINO” and “morph” that are full body humanoid
for research use, but involved professional
designers for designing its esthetics and cultural
context. PINO, esthetics designed by Tatsuya
PINO in Venezia Biennale 2000
Matsui, made its first public appearance in La
Biennale di Venezia 2000, followed by a special exhibition at The Museum of Modern
Art New York (MoMA) in 2001. It was also featured in the music video “Can you
keep a secret?” by Hikaru Utada. Already, two venture companies were established:
ZMP Inc. was established to market PINO’s design and technologies, as well as
morph. The Flower Robotics Corp. was established as the first dedicated robot
design company. We expect those companies to be “Ferrari” in humanoid robot
industry. Underlying philosophy behind the project is to put humanoid in the right
cultural context. We consider robots, particularly humanoid robot, to be cultural
existence, not merely an item of technology. While technology is an essential factor
that enables humanoid functional, it shares only a part of what really “humanoid”
means to us and to the society.
PINO was designed to be open platform for humanoid research, and constraint
ourselves to use only off-the-shelf components and affordable manufacturing
precision and materials. Although, this is totally an opposite approach to traditional
robotics research which aim at high performance systems, our “poor man’s
humanoid” is an important approach to encourage affordable solution and hand-on
experience on humanoid robots. To further promote
our idea, we have made a decision to disclose all
technical information under Gnu General Public License
(Note: esthetic parts are not under GPL term) as PINOclass Humanoid Robot Platform (PHR-001), also known
as OpenPINO platform. This is the first attempt to
create linux-like community in robotics, and we wish
that numbers of researchers and industries to
contribute evolution of OpenPINO.
27
Vincenzo Tagliasco
LIRA-Lab, DIST - University of Genova ([email protected])
My current main research aim is to design a robot
equipped with artificial phenomenal consciousness.
This would constitute the arrival point of my academic
career. I have followed many tortuous paths in order to
realise the overriding dream I had as a University
student: building a conscious android.
After graduating in Electronic Engineering at the
University of Genoa, Italy, I was appointed Researcher
of Electrical Engineering in the same year (1965). I
worked as a Research Fellow at Harvard University
(Children’s Hospital, Dept. of Neurophysiology) and as Research Associate and
Visiting Scientist at MIT (Dept. of Psychology and Dept. of Brain and Cognitive
Sciences). Between 1970-74 I was Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering at
the University of Genoa and from 1974 to 1980 Associate Professor in
Bioengineering in the same University. Since 1980 I have been Full Professor in
Bioengineering. I have also coordinated the sub-program 'Sensors and actuators' of
the Italian “CNR Program on Robotics”.
My main interests have been in the interdisciplinary areas of bioengineering and
robotics, with special reference to motor systems, visual perception and cognitive
behaviours. I have also worked in the field of computerized images and health care
management.
I make regular contributions to Italian newspapers and journals concerning the
issues involved in the transmission of technical and scientific knowledge and on the
socio-economic impact of technology.
My recent books are:
V. Tagliasco e A. Vincenzi, Dietro le formule. Discorsi sulla logica e sulla matematica,
Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 1998
V. Tagliasco, Dizionario degli esseri umani fantastici e artificiali, Oscar Saggi,
Mondadori, Milano, 1999
R: Manzotti e V. Tagliasco, Coscienza e realtà. Una teoria della coscienza per
costruttori e studiosi di menti e cervelli, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2001
28
From Artificial Body to Artificial Mind
In the 1992, the term ‘artificial consciousness’
was used for the first time in a scientific
context (Aleksander, 2000). Since then no
consensus has emerged among scientists
about if and when such an achievement will be
possible. The experienced properties of the
conscious mind – among which unity,
representation and being in relation-with – are
not shared by any known physical system. As
Jaegwon Kim wrote “We are not capable of
designing, through theoretical reasoning, a wholly new kind of structure that we can
predict will be conscious; I don’t think we even know how to begin; or indeed how to
measure our success” (Kim, 1993). Given these premises, it is impossible to build
an artificial system that allows a conscious mind to occur. A theory of mind must
propose a new framework and a way to use such a framework in order to explain
biological brains and to design artificial minds. Existing approaches fail on one or
other of these two constraints. For instance Edelman and Aleksander do not
propose any new ontological frameworks (Aleksander, 1994, 2000; Edelman, 1987;
Edelman and Tononi, 2000), while Davidson, Chalmers and others do not propose
any new design approach (Chalmers, 1996; Davidson, 1980). We have presented a
different framework that is capable of endorsing a structure that, in its ultimate
realization, will allow a conscious mind to occur (Manzotti and Tagliasco, 2001;
Manzotti, 2001). We called this framework The Theory of The Enlarged Mind (TEM
for short). According to TEM every conscious event corresponds to a counterfactual
relation with those events that constitute its content. By ‘counterfactual relation’ we
mean a particular kind of causal relation between occurrences of events. In short,
the rationale for this claim is that between events there is a particular kind of
relation; it is the foundation for the intentionality of mental events, and is perceived
as a counterfactual relation. An artificial conscious system is a system that is
capable of letting events occur in a counterfactual fashion with external events. A
moment of consciousness corresponds to an event that has a counterfactual relation
with all those events that are part of the content of that moment of consciousness.
Manzotti R., Tagliasco V. Coscienza e realtà: una teoria della coscienza per
costruttori e studiosi di menti e cervelli, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2001
Manzotti R., Intentional robots: the design of a goal-seeking environment-driven,
agent, LIRA-Lab, DIST, University of Genoa, 2001
29
Masao Kurosaki
Professor of Tokyo Woman’s Christian University (Department of Philosophy, College
of Arts and Sciences)
Born in Sendai in 1954. Professor of Tokyo
Woman’s Christian University (Department of
Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences).
Graduated from department of philosophy of
the graduate school of Tokyo University.
His main concern is in the field of traditional
philosophy including Kant. Also philosophically
discusses about various present issues, such
as A.I., electronic medium, theory of
deterministic chaos, or bioethics. Writes as a
committee of Yomiuri Shinbun (newspaper), as
a
cultural
columnist
of
Asahi
Shinbun(newspaper).
Author of many books on philosophy. (all in Japanese)
Have Philosophers Dreamed of Android? - Philosophy of AI (Tetsugaku-Shobou,
1987)
Philosophy on Technology (Koubun-Dou, 1992)
MS-DOS is the Organon of Thinking (Ascii-Press, 1993)
Philosophy on Chaos, Medium, Anima (NTT-Press, 1997)
Android as a Neighbor (NHK-Press, 1998)
A Guide to Kant’s "Critique of Pure Reason" (Koudan-Sha, 2000)
30
WHAT IS soso-called "MIND" IN ROBOT?
(1) Robot’s Mind – ‘One Which Actually Does Not Exist.’
These days, progress in the development of
robots is truly amazing. At the end of last
year, I went to ‘Robotex 2000’, an exhibition
of partner-type robots, held in Yokohama.
This exhibition aimed at the development of a
new type of robot, ‘personal robots which will
co-exist with human beings’ replacing earlier
industrial robots.
A lot of new types of robots were exhibited such as the two-legged walking robots
produced by Honda, Sony’s Aibo robot, and other robots produced by many
universities, institutes and toy companies. The exhibition was so crowded that
people had to wait to enter for 2 hours even though it was held on a weekday. Sony
presented a video which demonstrated SDR, ‘a small two-legged walking
entertainment robot’ of only 50 centimeters in height. Even though we could not see
the actual robot on the day of the exhibition, the video of three of them dancing
together was really impressive.
However, I was able to see in person, the actual movement of the two-legged
walking robot produced by Honda through the heads of the busy crowd. A small
robot called ASHIMO, whose name recalls to us the name of the science fiction
writer, Asimov, was walking down the stairs and appeared in an open space in front
of us.
I was absolutely fascinated – ‘it’s moving’ – ‘it’s so cute. ‘Watching the robot waving
its hand while leaving, I sighed, thinking ‘I wish it would wave to me, too’ and smiled
wryly at what I thought.
I had seen the earlier model of ASHIMO, the P2
model, on video. This was 180 centimeters high
and weighed 130 kilograms, so I felt a little
scared and threatened by it. But the new
ASHIMO model, which has diminished to 120
centimeters high and 43 kilograms has a loving
and familiar atmosphere.
The true nature of the robot has hardly changed
at all, but a simple change in size determines
whether we feel that it is threatening or loving.
31
This difference in ‘how we feel’ is caused not by ‘our intellectual understanding’ but
by ‘our instinctive feeling’.
At any rate, Honda’s ASIMO and Sony’SDR are touching creations.
Two different types of attitudes towards these two-legged walking robots are
intricately mixed; one is the ‘intuitive, instinctive feeling’ such as that felt towards a
‘visitor from a different dimension’ and the other is the ‘(intellectual) understanding’,
in the style of Relation Theory, through which we arbitrarily cast ‘a mind which does
not really exist’ into the robot.
Asked if ‘intelligence and mind’ exist in the two-legged walking robot, the answer is
obviously ‘no’. Mind of robot is just "focus imaginarius" which Immanuel Kant
preferred to use in contrast to "focus realis" in Kritik der reinen Vernunft(1781/87).
Despite this fact, if we can feel as if they had ‘the intelligence and mind’, it is us that
‘cast ‘ (or " hinein-legen" in kantian term) the mind into the robot.
The mind that robots seem to ‘have’ is only the one which we have cast as a
reflection into the robot and is what I term ‘the mind which actually does not exist.’
(focus imaginarius)
We try naturally to ‘give everything a meaning’. For example, we put ‘the writer’s
emotion’ into a computer-generated Haiku poem, or visualize a human face upon
the face of the fish as a ‘human-face-fish’.
The two-legged walking robots are highly accomplished and have the ability to go
beyond intellectual understanding and to appeal to human emotional feeling.
They surely seem to ‘have a mind’, but this mind is ‘one which actually does not
exist.’ The mind is only one that we human beings fabricate and cast into the robot,
but it ‘appears’ as if the robot really possessed it naturally.
The ‘mind’ of the robot does not really exist.Unless we are always conscious of this
fact, a lot of unnecessary confusion will occur in society.
This is the most important thing that we must bear in mind in this new century in
order to ‘get along with’ the robots which will certainly appear in the future.
(2) Do Robots Have a Future?
In his science fiction novel, ‘The Soul of the Robot’, Barrington J. Bayley gives a
fascinating account of how some poorly made robots received an order to ‘hinder
the assassination of a very important person by a group of assassins’.
The robots were so confused that they had been groping for what to do but finally
came to a conclusion.
32
“Look at this, sir - even the most brilliant assassins can never carry out their task
anymore, because WE killed him ourselves!"
We human beings know that it is a total disaster for them to kill the person who they
are supposed to protect. This story hints at the fundamental difficulties in teaching
robots the ‘common sense’ and implicit ‘understanding’ that we naturally have and
take for granted - so obvious that it remains unstated.
These days, various models of partner-type robots such as two-legged walking
robots and pet-type robots have become a topic of conversation. We can see great
activity as though the 21st century had become the century of the robots.
In this recent robot boom, people might vaguely expect that robots can come to
understand us, realize our intentions and cope with situations flexibly. But is that
really true?
‘Does the computer have a mind?’ ‘Can a machine possess intelligence?‘
If we say that the fifty years comprising the second half of the 20th century
witnessed an era for the artificial ‘brain’ model through which we intended to use
technology to actualize human-like ‘intelligence’ in machines, we could say that the
21st century will be an era in which we are trying to actualize the artificial ‘body’
model.
It must not be misunderstood that the shift (from the brain model robots) to the
body model robots occurred because Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the brain model
robots had already reached prospects of solution and was actualized, and that the
next step was the body model.
On the contrary, it has become clear in these 50 years that it is almost impossible to
make human-like ‘intelligence’ that can cope with various situations flexibly within
machines.
The optimism that had been cherished in the research has almost completely
disappeared.
Computers can easily do work which is highly complicated but their procedures are
completely ‘precise’.
However, as the opening story tells us (though it is rather extreme), it is almost
impossible to make robots understand ‘the meaning’ of the actual circumstances
and to teach them ‘common sense’ and ‘implicit understanding’.
Because, in order to understand casual remarks and some kinds of act (which we
human beings spontaneously make), a ‘knowledge’ of vague ‘background’ and a
considerable ‘implicit understanding’ is indispensable, but it is extremely difficult to
write down specific rules and definitions so that computers can understand.
33
In order to avoid these difficulties, after trials and errors, neuro-computers and
computers with the ability to learn have been attempted as substitutes, but these
can basically be seen not to have succeeded.
The popular robots such as ‘AIBO’ or ‘ASHIMO’ emerged from the results of
technological innovations in robot engineering which were not directly connected to
Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. However the form and movement of these robots
go beyond our intellectual understanding, and appeal to human emotional feeling.
We try naturally to ‘give everything a meaning’. For example, we put ‘the writer’s
emotion‘ into a computer-generated Haiku poem, or visualize a human face upon
the face of the fish as ‘human-face-fish’.
The two-legged walking robots that are highly accomplished and the pet-robot that
lovingly responds, surely seem to ‘have a mind’, but that is only one we human
beings fabricate and cast into the robots (focus imaginarius). Nevertheless, it
‘appears’ to us as if they themselves really possessed the mind naturally.
Society might imagine that the present robot scene is the dawn of (the Japanese
robot cartoon character) Tetsuwan Atomu.
However, whether we view it as unfortunate or view it as meaning that we do not
have to worry until far in the future (perhaps, we might have to worry in 500 or
1,000 years), I would like to declare that there is almost no possibility of actualizing
robots that can make decisions autonomously and cope with situations
appropriately.
There are only robots which are a combination of an ‘Artificial Body’ being taken to
technical excellence and ‘brains which are a poor imitation of humans’ that are
programmed to respond to certain stimulations and to have a learning function.
However, because of our tendency
to give everything a meaning, the
‘fantasy’ is going to be
unquestioningly accepted that
‘(flexibly) acting robots’ and
‘thinking AI’ have been rapidly
combined and that autonomously
acting androids with apparently
human-like intelligence have
already been accomplished.
34
Jose M. Galvan
Pontificial University of the Holy Cross, Rome
Born in Cadiz (Spain), 1954.
He graduated in Medicine from the University
Autonoma of Madrid (1977). He worked as
surgeon in the “San Carlos” Clinic Hospital of
the School of Medicine of the University
Complutense of Madrid, in the II Chair of
Surgery.
He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1981 at
Torreciudad (Spain). Doctor in Theology from the University of Navarre (1983).
In 1984 he moved to Rome. From then on he has worked in the Theological School
of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. At present he is professor of Dogmatic
Theology in the School of Theology and of Anthropology in the “Istituto Superiore
di Scienze Religiose all'Apollinare” (ISSRA). Areas of interest and publications:
Trinity, Divine Attributes, Pneumatology, theological Anthropology, Art and
Aesthetics. Has directed twenty-five doctoral thesis. From 1988 to 1992 member of
Council of the ISSRA. From 1995 to 2001 Vice-director of the Department of
Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology of the University of the Holy Cross. President
of the Scientific Committees of the II International Symposium “La Giustificazione in
Cristo” of the School of Theology of the University of the Holy Cross (1996), and of
the International Congress of Theology “Christ in human
Pilgrimage”, in occasion of the International Meeting of the
Jubilee of the Universities in Rome (2000).
Founding Academician of the “Accademia Romana delle Arti”
and member of the Cultural Association “Arte21”, from 1998
onwards he has given several courses on Aesthetics. He
collaborates with the Department of Bio-engineering of the
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa, where he directed an
interdisciplinary Seminar titled “Il legame uomo-tecnologia:
aspetti teologici” (April 2001).
35
TechnoTechno-ethics: Acceptability and Social Integration of Artificial Creatures
Technoethics central theme is that mankind is technical by its very nature. An
“unfinished condition of mankind” is emphasized, so that human beings are forced
to interact with the cosmos in order to produce technology (work). The aim of
human work is not limited only to provide for specific needs, but also to tend to the
last truth of reality, in order to use it in the progress of mankind.
Human actions are finalized in order to provide a better quality of life. The concept
of Truth and Good as pre-existents are introduced in order to differentiate the
meaning of “better” quality of life. The completion of man’s being is to have positive
interpersonal relationships; hence truth and good consist in inter-subjectivity which
is the sharing of the intentional objectives of intellect (truth) and free will (good)
with others. This “act of giving to each other” incorporates the capacity of man to
interact with physical matter, which is technology.
Humanoid are called to be the perfect symbolic machine, not limited by a specific
function, but able “to do what man can do”. In fact, every symbolic machine is
unlimited in its “species”, because, corresponding to the human symbolic capacity, it
will have an indeterminate range of expression. But while other symbolic machines
are limited by the nature of their significant capacity, humanoids will be machines
capable of reproducing the complete symbolic spectrum of human beings, including
all the aspects of the human body language.
The symbolic capacity is not in the material condition of the language which a
humanoid can reproduce, but specifically in the nexus with the significate archetype
(free will) which is signified by the symbol.
The humanoid then, is to assist human beings in manifesting themselves, and this is
ethically very good, as it suppose a radical increment of human symbolic capacity.
But the use a humanoid to substitute a specific human action, which has its genesis
in free will, is ethically incorrect, because the symbolical foundation is lacking.
36

the Book of Abstract - ARTS Lab

Transcription

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