The Human Machine

Emptying a dishwasher is child's play for a human being, but a highly complicated process for a robot. Scientists in Karlsruhe are working on an ambitious project: the development of a robot that can act independently. Experts from wide-ranging specialist fields are working on the robot to make it see, hear and feel.

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The Human Machine: Episode 03, 29/04/2008

Practice Makes Perfect

ARMAR now moves around without crashing. Tamim Asfour's team can now concentrate on the next task. Whether it be a tumbler, a cup or a cereal packet, ARMAR is expected to recognise objects and pick them up. A first attempt fails. ARMAR can’t measure the distance to the kitchen utensils and therefore can't locate them. With the aid of a geometrical pattern, his "eyes", consisting of 4 cameras, must be re-calibrated. Can it now locate the cup?

At a glance

University: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Field of Research: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Systems Technology

Location: Karlsruhe

Episodes: 12

Season/Year: 1. Season/ 2008

Status: Finished

Topics: crashes, Tamim Asfour, tumbler, cup, cereal packet, recognise

15.04.2008

Automated Help in the Kitchen

Up to now it has been a lifeless heap of aluminium: ARMAR the robot. This is soon going to change. ARMAR will soon be getting the housework whipped into shape. But there’s still a long way to go.

22.04.2008

The Training Kitchen

ARMAR is alive: it moves its arms, hands and fingers, and with its undercarriage it can even spin around in a circle. But how does it manage not to run into anything? Can it recognise open drawers?

29.04.2008

Practice Makes Perfect

ARMAR now moves around without crashing. Tamim Asfour's team can now concentrate on the next task. Whether it be a tumbler, a cup or a cereal packet, ARMAR is expected to recognise objects and pick them up.

06.05.2008

People in View

What only a few years ago sounded like science fiction, ARMAR will soon turn into reality. The high-tech robot is not only supposed to be able to see people, but recognise them as well.

13.05.2008

Testing, Testing, Testing

Toasters, blenders, kettles: the kitchen is teeming with sounds that ARMAR has to recognise and distinguish. Hey ARMAR, can you hear us?

20.05.2008

Grand Gestures

"Bring me that cup." ARMAR doesn't understand everything yet. Pointing gestures could help improve communication with the robot.

27.05.2008

Learning About Cups

What characteristics do cups have? How do you pick them up and put them down? In a few weeks ARMAR will be reviewed by the DFG. By then it will have to be able to handle a cup properly.

03.06.2008

Showpiece

Soft, compliant and sensitive: ARMAR's new hand can even handle a raw egg. The gripping mechanism developed by Dr. Artem Kargov and his colleague Immanuel Gaiser hides something sensational....

10.06.2008

Setting the Table

Programming by demonstration: this is how Martin Lösch wants to teach ARMAR to set the table. To do this he wears data-acquisition gloves with magnetic field sensors. A camera system is installed to monitor everything.

17.06.2008

Humanoid Robots

ARMAR is supposed to eventually move like a human being. Because the more the appearance and the movements of a robot resemble those of humans, the better it will be accepted by them.

24.06.2008

Dress Rehearsal in the Kitchen

Talking, walking, holding, filling the dishwasher: ARMAR has learned a lot in the last seven years. Now it is time to show whether it has really mastered its new capabilities.

01.07.2008

Decision Day

The researchers are running on adrenalin. Today ARMAR is supposed to show the DFG reviewers what it can do. First task: object recognition. Will everything run smoothly?

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