Dr Hiroshi Ishiguro’s Geminoid: Human-Like Robot

Ira Pastor ideaXme life sciences ambassador and founder of Bioquark interviews Professor Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro the Director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, of the Department of Systems Innovation, in the Graduate School of Engineering Science, at Osaka University, Japan.

Geminoid of Dr Hiroshi Ishiguro Professor Osaka University and Director Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Osaka University
Geminoid HI-4 in Dr Ishiguro’s image, developed in Osaka. University. Photo Credit: Osaka University.

Professor Ishiguro is also the Director of the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), a private company supported by industry, government and academia, with the aim of promoting fundamental and innovative R&D activities, as well as contributing to society in a wide range of telecommunication fields, and is active in such fields as neuro- / knowledge science, intelligent robotics, machine language translation, and wireless communication.

He is also Chief Technology Advisor Vstone Co. Ltd., a commercialization / technology transfer organization set up to promote his inventions.

Geminoid: Human-Like Robot Developed by Dr Hiroshi Ishiguro

Professor Ishiguro’s lab works at the intersection of computer vision, robotics and artificial intelligence, concentrating on the idea of making a robot that is as similar as possible to a live human being, and believes it may be possible to build an android in the near future that is indistinguishable from a human, at least during a brief encounter.

ERICA is developed for a research platform to the autonomous conversational robot that can communicate with people by various manners such as voice, bodily gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and touch
ERICA robot. ERICA is developed for a research platform. An autonomous conversational robot that can communicate with people by various manners such as voice, bodily gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and touch. Photo Credit Osaka University.

Professor Ishiguro received his Ph. D in Robotics and Computer Sciences from Osaka University, and has attended Yamanashi University, Kyoto University, University of California, and Wakayama University, where he has worked in a range of areas from distributed sensor systems and interactive robotics.

On this ideaXme episode we will hear from Professor Ishiguro about:

-His background – how he developed an interest in computer science, robotics, and theatre / the arts. -The end of the information age, the beginning of the robot age, why our brains are wired to relate to human-human interaction, and why we need “humanized” robots -The Geminoid Project – A tele-operated android that has similar appearance of an original person, called Geminoid HI-2, modeled after Prof. Ishiguro – The CommU Support Project for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder – His work in Brain-Computer-Robot interfaces and the principle of body ownership transfer, a phenomenon where the operator feels like the robot is part of their own body – The Robot Performing Arts Project – Finally, why he is so grateful to Toru Ishida and Saburo Tsuji.

This interview text is in American English.

Credits: Ira Pastor interview video, text, and audio.

Ira Pastor, Life Sciences Ambassador
Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador

Contact the founder of ideaXme: [email protected]

If you liked this interview you might also enjoy our interview with President and CEO of NTT Research: How to Upgrade Reality.

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