Another Approach to Human-Robot Interaction
Professor Okada studies human-robot interaction by creating weak robots.// But there are other approaches to this kind of study.// Professor Ishiguro at Osaka University has been working on androids, or humanlike robots.//

　　Androids used to belong in science-fiction movies, but now we come across them in every corner of our lives: in hotels, shopping malls, museums, and even theaters.//
　　A play called Sayonara  is going on in a small theater.// Two women actors are talking to each other.// The people in the theater know that one of the actors is an android which is remotely controlled by another actor.// It speaks with the voice of a real woman and its movements are humanlike.//
　　When the play starts, everyone in the theater is watching the android, but as the play goes on, they forget that one of the actors is an android.// The android is so humanlike that they accept it as a real actor by the end of the play.//
　　The android in Sayonara  was created by Ishiguro Hiroshi, a robotics researcher known for his androids.// He says that there are two steps in creating androids which will look fully human.// First, you have to capture typical characteristics of humans—their expressions and body movements.// Second, you need remote-control machines to transfer human speech and movements to the android.//
　　Ishiguro believes that this will lead to androids that look and speak like human beings.// Ishiguro has created many androids of famous people, including Natsume Soseki, Shibusawa Eiichi, Katsura Beicho, Matsuko Deluxe, and others.// Ishiguro even made a copy of himself, which he named Geminoid HI.// It speaks with his voice.// When Ishiguro tilts his head, Geminoid HI tilts its head too.// Geminoid HI speaks and behaves as if it were Ishiguro himself.//
　　The android resembles Ishiguro so much that he sends it to conferences abroad instead of attending the conferences himself.// He stays in Japan and controls Geminoid HI remotely through his computer.// When the android speaks, people actually feel that Ishiguro is there in person.//
　　Robotic technology is so advanced that the borderline between humans and androids is gradually disappearing.// But not everyone feels at ease with androids.// When androids seem almost human but are not quite human, many people feel uneasy.// Some people say that androids are “creepy.”// This creepiness is sometimes called the “uncanny valley.”//
　　Ishiguro is now working hard to cross over this valley.// Before overcoming the creepiness, however, he needs to ask various questions: How do we express emotions?// How do the facial muscles react to emotions?// How often and when do we blink?// What kind of gestures, both voluntary and involuntary, do we use when communicating with others?// These questions will lead to a better understanding of human feelings and behavior, which in turn will help Ishiguro create a more humanlike android.// In the end, the goal of his project is to discover what it means to be human.//