If robots have a choice, they don't know if they really want to be made by humans. After all, although robots carry heavy objects, do reconnaissance, serve dishes and wash dishes, and want to take care of human tedious things, they are also disliked as too bulky and inflexible. And if it is too flexible and too smart, it will be evaluated as frightening, and some people are afraid of being attacked by robots the next second.
Of course, if robots can really make choices, this is even more frightening.
In this era when robots become stronger and make people panic, some people hope that people can help robots become stronger, and use robots to eliminate the loneliness behind humans. Eliminate not only the loneliness of humans, but also the loneliness of the supporters behind the robots.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > this robot restaurant, the service providers are people</h1>
Probably because of the serious aging, Japan's attitude towards robots is much more moderate. Although not every household can accept robots and treat them as family members, Japan's acceptance of robots is also much higher than in other countries.
A clear example is that other countries' film and television works on robots are "Love, Death and Robots" and "I, Robots", while Japanese film and television works are "My Robot Girlfriend" and "Robot Uncle". The former is keen to imagine the threat of robots to humans in the future world, while the latter wants to try to reconstruct the relationship between humans and robots, the body may be a machine, but the emotion belongs to humans.
▲ The uncle of the disguised robot went to the toilet, causing shock to the people around him. Image from: Uncle Robot
The café that just opened in Tokyo in June this year is the best example of "machine body, human heart". This is the result of the Avatar Robot Cafe DAWNver.beta project, which we can also call the Avatar Cafe.
One of the features of Avatar Cafe is the robot waiter, but unlike other robot cafes/restaurants, its waiters are manipulated.
Although the robot itself has a set of operating systems, orders are given by humans and the robot completes the task. But usually several robots are controlled by a single person and give orders through the system. The Difference at Avatar Cafe is that the controller behind each robot is a real person, and the robot's exclusive controller is called the "pilot".
▲ The person lying in the hospital bed is the "pilot" behind the robot
An important reason why these "pilots" provide services through robots is that they cannot provide coffee services on site. They come from all over Japan, and most of them suffer from diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy, and they have limited mobility and are disabled people who have difficulty getting out of their homes.
With the Avatar Robot Restaurant, the "pilot" can work from home. By remotely controlling robots at home and in hospitals, "pilots" can also serve customers in offline cafes. A patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who works at Avatar also works as a barista, and he can even enter data into a computer to provide customized services to make coffee according to customer preferences.
The robots are 120 centimeters tall, and the "pilot" can control the computer through the movement of his eyes and fingertips, thus controlling the robot OriHime-D. The robot has a built-in speaker that allows the "pilot" to talk to the guests, and even the "pilot" who cannot speak can use the artificial voice service to make a sound.
▲ Promotional poster for Avatar Cafe
With OriHime-D, people with limited mobility can also see the movements and expressions of guests at home, and then feedback the voice service from the human point of view, and they can even convey their thoughts through the emojis and body movements on the robot's "face" and physically communicate with customers.
Before the coffee shop opened, the founder of robot maker Ory Laboratories had long dreamed of using his robot to help people with reduced mobility to work. So before The Avatar Cafe gets enough crowdfunding, he's working to push the mobile robot OriHime-D into more restaurants to serve.
▲ Cafe pictures
A reporter from The Mainichi Shimbun once went to a local hamburger shop to experience the service of OriHime-D, which was served by a 24-year-old girl with spinal muscular dystrophy. The other party said that she often provides services for elderly customers who are not adapted to the mobile Internet era, and she can introduce them to how to buy and how to pay according to the habits of the elderly.
When the elderly find it inconvenient in this cashless coffee shop, it is the person behind the machine who provides the service. If they've been unable to complete the self-service payment, OriHime-D's eyes will light up green — meaning the pilot is serving: "Try deflecting the barcode to the right so the machine can read it."
▲ Robots providing services at the cash register
She will also make product recommendations from a personal point of view, whether it is based on age and gender, or according to the solar term trend, which are subjective recommendation to plant grass. From this perspective, the OriHime-D is a robot that "doesn't need" ARTIFICIAL intelligence, as these are replaced by pilots behind them.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > use people to "replace" robots, becoming just needed</h1>
Robots were born to do high-risk jobs or do things that are beyond the reach of human beings, and their original intention was to help humans.
Most of the robot applications we see are in heavy industry, where they handle heavy loads, cut materials, and assemble components. What is common around is the service robot in the hotel and the sweeping robot at home.
As one of the robots, OriHime-D also has the mission of doing things that are beyond the reach of human beings. It's hard to use one person to be a job spokesperson for people with disabilities, and at least in terms of cost control, it's not a cost-effective business.
The presence of robots makes it possible for these people to be hired. Even if there are more examples that can be used for marketing promotions, it is also of great help to people who cannot get out of the house. Kiftaro, the initiator of the Avatar Cafe project and the maker of the robot, said:
Of course, there is a possibility of failure at the beginning, but all we have to do is find the cause and improve it. My ultimate goal is to create a hopeful society of people who use wheelchairs or are bedridden by illness, where they can work and serve others. I want to use this café as an opportunity to make working with virtual robots an option for society.
OriHime-D in service
Yoshitomo often couldn't go to school because of illness at a young age, and it was difficult to integrate into the campus after recovering, and the inability to communicate with people was his long-term experience, and these special experiences made him hope that he could "eliminate loneliness". In college, he came up with the idea of communicating with people through robots, but the deeper he learned about artificial intelligence, the more he felt that he had found the wrong direction.
In his view, it must be humans who can reduce the loneliness of others, not computer programs. So he began to connect lonely, bed-trapped people with ordinary people, allowing them to communicate and create new memories.
In this process, the people behind the robot can communicate with people, they do not have to be trapped in a room of several square meters, loaded on the robot to go to work, to serve. The person being served can also communicate with people, and they don't have to face the artificial intelligence and standard templates that answer the questions they ask, because there are real human attendants behind the robots.
▲ It looks like a robot waiter, but it is actually a human providing the service
China also has a similar public welfare platform for the visually impaired, and the visually impaired can upload the platform for help by taking photos and other means when they encounter difficulties. It takes 1-2 minutes for people without visual impairments to help the visually impaired with their eyes and voice. In this link, the visually impaired rely not on the automatic recognition algorithm, but on the connection, help, and communication between people.
This kind of person-to-person communication is likely to be more important than you think. We introduced in "Only Japanese who are not afraid to be killed by robots" that Japanese nursing homes will purchase certain robots to accompany the elderly. This is true, but beyond that, what the elderly in Japan still need is love from human beings. Roboticist Marketta Niemelä says:
When I surveyed Japan, I found that elderly care institutions in Japan rarely buy a lot of robotic equipment. On the contrary, people need more love from human beings.
Before a humorous, entertaining AI system like Her is made, the world may need more OriHime-D to help the two humans communicate, helping both the serviced and the served.
▲ The male protagonist in the movie falls in love through headphones and artificial intelligence. Image courtesy of Her
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > return to the essence of robots and serve humans</h1>
Among the people who meet the requirements for the use of OriHime-D is a well-known person, that is, Hawking. Also suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Hawking's work tools are made by the world's top tech companies, Apple provides facial recognition and eye-tracking technology for his wheelchair, Microsoft provides a computer system, and Intel provides an assistive situational awareness toolkit.
But there was only one Hawking in this predicament, and onlookers marveled at his clever brain, and smart people provided tools to help him continue his research. It is normal for others in this situation to be ignored, and even with fundraising projects such as the Ice Bucket Challenge, it is still difficult for the neglected to get practical help, and it is difficult for them to prove their worth.
▲ The technical support of Hawking's wheelchair is a major technology company
Robots like OriHime-D may not be as powerful as Hawking's wheelchair, but he brings hope to more sick people.
Through these robots that look a little silly, it is possible to "go out" to work and communicate with people normally. The original projects may become one of the selling points of commercial stores like Bear's Claw Coffee, but sticking to it may be an ordinary future.
Paralyzed runner Adam Gorlitsky can challenge the marathon with the help of exoskeletons; paralyzed patients can use brain-computer interfaces to compensate for their own mechanical deficiencies; and visually impaired people can quickly adapt to the Internet world through auxiliary functions such as narration.
▲ Paralyzed runner Adam Gorlitsky broke the world record with the help of an exoskeleton
Whether it's robots or exoskeletons, these technologies were given the right to help humans at the outset. In today's social progress, the existence of similar technologies has the potential to help more neglected niche groups, giving them more opportunities and futures.
While Boston Robotics and Virgin Atlantic explore commercial technology and cosmic boundaries, there are still people using robots to serve neglected people, trying to use robots to help people who can't move to build more communication connections. While people are worried about the negative impact of the development of science and technology, the existence of robots such as OriHime-D still brings people a stable peace of mind and hope.