Domestic Drones

This article was written by Kelly Her and published by the Taiwan Review on April 1, 2006. It reports that Taiwan is gearing up for a future where robots do the dirty, dull and dangerous work.

There are currently two major types of robots. Industrial robots are used in factories and carry out predetermined tasks set by programmed instructions. On the other hand, service robots are used in anything from households to entertainment to medical care. They possess artificial intelligence that enables them to sense, reason and react within specific parameters.

Indeed, service robots represent a whole new future for the robotics industry. According to the International Federation of Robotics and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the number of service robots in use in the world is expected to soar from 625,000 units in 2002 to 2.2 million by the end of 2006. During the same period, the number of industrial robots is predicted to increase by a mere 105,000 units.

Specifically, Japan is currently the world's top maker of industrial robots. According to the Japan Robot Association, the value of Japan's robot industry is likely to amount to US$69.93 billion by 2025, with service robots making up more than 50 percent of the figure.

Countries such as Germany, Japan and the United States have been engaged in research and development of robots for years. In recent years, China, South Korea and Taiwan have also joined the race. This article features the Intelligent Robotics Technology Division of the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan.

Taiwan's experience in high-tech manufacturing gives it substantial advantages in robotics. Indeed, the nation has strengths in both information and communications technology and precision machinery. At present, Japan and Europe already dominate the industrial robot market, while the United States has taken the lead in developing smart machines that are used in airborne surveillance, marine exploration and unmanned weapons systems. In this sense, Taiwan is expected to do best to venture into the research and development of household humanoid robots.

At present, Taiwan's industrial robot industry has an annual production value of approximately NT$14 billion (US$438 million), with NT$8 billion (US$250 million) in exports and NT$6 billion (US$188 million) in imports. However, in the case of Taiwan's development of service robots, most of them are still in the prototype phase.

According to this article, intelligent robots require complex technical systems that integrate artificial intelligence, communication electronics, precision machinery and cultural creativity. Taiwan's current challenge is how to bind all these fields together and graft them onto its industrial foundation and supply chain. In 2006, the government in Taiwan earmarked special funds to promote the development of smart machines. Approximately NT$30 million (US$937,500) of these funds have been allocated to the National Taiwan University, Chiao Tung University and Chung Chen University for research on image analysis and artificial intelligence. About NT$200 million (US$6.25 million) have been allocated to the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the Metal Industries Research and Development Center and the Precision Machinery Research and Development Center, for development of electrical control, image recognition and navigation technologies. Finally, about NT$60 million (US$1.88 million) is being used to disseminate specific information through product forums, case studies and international exchange.

Such generous funding from the government comes with a plan that clearly stipulates the responsibilities of recipient organizations. For example, the Chungshan Institute will develop service robots for disaster prevention and rescue, the Metal Industries Research and Development Center for entertainment and education, and the Precision Machinery Research and Development Center for information provision and business applications. In the short term, the Industrial Technology Research Institute will focus on developing robots that function as guides, security guards and life companions. In the long term, the institute will move toward smart machines for the medical care of the infirm and the elderly.

This article reports that the Industrial Technology Research Institute has already developed a service robot prototype called the ITRI Bee. With its speech recognition and face-tracking features, the Bee can work and communicate with other robots. It is also capable of functioning as a location guide, a receptionist and a security guard. The institute plans to transfer Bee technologies to interested local manufacturers for commercialization.

In 2006, the Industrial Technology Research Institute will also assist the government in establishing an association of smart machine industries. The goal of the association will be to integrate all manufacturers in the production stream. Some domestic high-tech companies, including BenQ and Via Technologies, have already formed research and development teams that are dedicated to robot development. In particular, Micro-Star International as one of Taiwan's leading motherboard maker managed to establish a research center as early as 2002. The company is highly capable in system integration and power design.

Micro-Star International's research and development team developed a humanoid robot named E2R-H3 (Education and Entertainment Robot Humanoid 3) in 2005. Its unveiling at Taiwan's international information technology show, Computex, in that year drew a lot of attention. The 34-centimeter-tall humanoid has an intelligence that possesses speech and digital images, as well as motor skills such as squatting, shaking its head and striking martial arts poses. Micro-Star International plans to launch a commercial version of E2R-H3 for home and office entertainment in 2007. In the future, the company also hopes to upgrade its humanoid to be security guards in hospitals and office buildings.

Finally, this article points out an interesting fact - Taiwan does not have its own popular robot culture. Indeed, Japan's robot designers have publicly put their inspiration down to comic books such as Astro Boy and Doraemon, while the United States has Robby, the robot from The Forbidden Planet in 1956, and R2D2 and C3PO from Star Wars. Because the cultivation of a fundamental understanding of robots is a important task in the research and development of them, some scholars suggest that it is necessary to create a space in Taiwan's public imagination for the robots.

The Northern Taiwan Institute of Science and Technology established a biorobotic museum in November 2005. Biorobotics is the branch of robotics that deals with imitating the behavior and motion of living creatures. The museum is divided into five areas. The history section covers the origin and development of robots, while the structure section showcases the mechanics and electronics inside them. The theory section sets out design principles, and the interactive section enables visitors to operate their potential robot helpers. Finally, a themed section displays some 100 models of biorobots. They demonstrate the fact that many Japanese robots contain parts like microcomputers, voice generators and sensors that are made in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Chinese-language newspaper China Times has organized the Super Robot Dream Exposition, which takes place from January to May 2006. The exhibition features 100 robots from the United States and Japan, and is designed to present a vivid picture of human life intertwining with robots in the near future. In short, the exhibition aims to improve young people's understanding of the broad technological applications of robots.