Not that airport security is what we’d call lax, but for the customs evaders of the world, at least there was some hope of human error. This month saw the beginning of the end of that hope — there’s a new kind of customs agent on the scene, and it’ll always be watching!
Sanbot Max is the latest robot from Chinese firm Qihan, which has been busy making robots that can interact with humans for retail businesses, hospitals, and, yes, even government agencies. Max has donned the uniform (seriously, they gave him cool shoulders and a little arm patch) of China’s Inspection and Quarantine Bureau and has been given a post in the Shenzhen Bay Port in the south. Max won’t be doing any tough guy acts any time soon, but from the sounds of it, this bot is a little bit more than just a techie tourist attraction!
Admittedly, we were ready to write Max off as a novelty — after all, while robotics and AI have advanced rapidly in the past few years, neither are even close to replacing what humans can do. Well, alright, maybe just the AI part is behind — we do live in a world where robots can land sweet backflips with no support.
Well, Max is no novelty, but this bot won’t be replacing any humans, either. Max will need human partners to do the decision making, but it is equipped with a few powers that humans most certainly do not have — infrared vision, instant facial recognition, and radiation detection. That makes it possible for Max to spot banned foods or illicit materials while spotting anyone that the Chinese government has flagged. So, uh, keep that in mind if you’re going to Shenzhen!
We’ve been interested in Qihan since 2016, when they showed off the original Sanbot. They’ve released a few other versions of their robot, like Max, since then, but the basic design has remained the same. Qihan’s bots stand about three feet tall, with a cute expressive display for a face and a tablet on the body. Sanbot is equipped with AI based on IBM’s Jeopardy-winning Watson technology, with extra abilities that can be added depending on how Sanbot is being used. Qihan has seen Sanbot used in elder care homes to provide companionship and aid residents, in stores to help customers find products and deals, and now in government security posts!
In the beginning, Sanbot had ineffective flippers for arms that were probably there for charm more than anything. Earlier this year, Qihan started making a Sanbot with proper arms and hands, with fingers that could be moved individually. That allowed Sanbot to pick up, hold, and carry objects from place to place, which really expands what the bot can do in hospitals or elder care homes. Sanbot can be interacted with using voice commands or the touchscreen on the tablet, and while Sanbot still has the same occasional problems with voice recognition that many voice assistants do (hi, Siri!), Qihan and their voice recognition partner, Nuance, have come a long way.
So, is this another job destined to be taken over by robot-kind? I guess it depends on what kind of time frame you’re talking about. We’ve seen Sanbot for ourselves, and while it’s pretty impressive at doing narrowly defined tasks like following people around or understanding basic voice commands, it’s nowhere near anything that could operate in the field with no human support — it’s not ready to take anyone’s job!
And, for all the noise, half-joking or otherwise, made about robots taking jobs, that’s generally the case. AI development is still many years away from creating, well, true artificial intelligence. While humans can react dynamically (and unexpectedly!) in every situation, most machines can only take a certain number of actions in response to a certain number of inputs (say, a voice command or a feed from a camera). Until that human creativity can be copied, a lot of us are still safe.
Still, that doesn’t mean robots will only be operating with human partners. There are some bots that certainly will displace people in the near future, and you’ll find them in cars. In fact, driving is kind of a strange example that runs counter to most uses of robots and AI. Usually, a lack of creativity or dynamism is seen as a bad thing — a solo customs bot that can’t immediately take action when it thinks it’s being tricked isn’t much good to any government. But, in driving, that human ability to be creative and multitask works against us! Humans get distracted or use their superior cognitive abilities to make poor decisions like drinking and driving. Autonomous cars that are designed with a narrow, focused purpose — just drive and don’t hit anything — will almost inevitably be better drivers than humans once the technology is fully developed (which might not be all that long from now). The same will hold true for repetitive tasks like data entry or stocking.
One thing’s for sure — with a robot in uniform, a robot that does backflips, and a robot that wants to have babies, it’s only going to get wilder from here!
Repost from http://www.chipchick.com/2017/12/ctk-qihan-sanbot-china-customs.html
Sanbot Max is the latest robot from Chinese firm Qihan, which has been busy making robots that can interact with humans for retail businesses, hospitals, and, yes, even government agencies. Max has donned the uniform (seriously, they gave him cool shoulders and a little arm patch) of China’s Inspection and Quarantine Bureau and has been given a post in the Shenzhen Bay Port in the south. Max won’t be doing any tough guy acts any time soon, but from the sounds of it, this bot is a little bit more than just a techie tourist attraction!
Admittedly, we were ready to write Max off as a novelty — after all, while robotics and AI have advanced rapidly in the past few years, neither are even close to replacing what humans can do. Well, alright, maybe just the AI part is behind — we do live in a world where robots can land sweet backflips with no support.
Well, Max is no novelty, but this bot won’t be replacing any humans, either. Max will need human partners to do the decision making, but it is equipped with a few powers that humans most certainly do not have — infrared vision, instant facial recognition, and radiation detection. That makes it possible for Max to spot banned foods or illicit materials while spotting anyone that the Chinese government has flagged. So, uh, keep that in mind if you’re going to Shenzhen!
We’ve been interested in Qihan since 2016, when they showed off the original Sanbot. They’ve released a few other versions of their robot, like Max, since then, but the basic design has remained the same. Qihan’s bots stand about three feet tall, with a cute expressive display for a face and a tablet on the body. Sanbot is equipped with AI based on IBM’s Jeopardy-winning Watson technology, with extra abilities that can be added depending on how Sanbot is being used. Qihan has seen Sanbot used in elder care homes to provide companionship and aid residents, in stores to help customers find products and deals, and now in government security posts!
In the beginning, Sanbot had ineffective flippers for arms that were probably there for charm more than anything. Earlier this year, Qihan started making a Sanbot with proper arms and hands, with fingers that could be moved individually. That allowed Sanbot to pick up, hold, and carry objects from place to place, which really expands what the bot can do in hospitals or elder care homes. Sanbot can be interacted with using voice commands or the touchscreen on the tablet, and while Sanbot still has the same occasional problems with voice recognition that many voice assistants do (hi, Siri!), Qihan and their voice recognition partner, Nuance, have come a long way.
So, is this another job destined to be taken over by robot-kind? I guess it depends on what kind of time frame you’re talking about. We’ve seen Sanbot for ourselves, and while it’s pretty impressive at doing narrowly defined tasks like following people around or understanding basic voice commands, it’s nowhere near anything that could operate in the field with no human support — it’s not ready to take anyone’s job!
And, for all the noise, half-joking or otherwise, made about robots taking jobs, that’s generally the case. AI development is still many years away from creating, well, true artificial intelligence. While humans can react dynamically (and unexpectedly!) in every situation, most machines can only take a certain number of actions in response to a certain number of inputs (say, a voice command or a feed from a camera). Until that human creativity can be copied, a lot of us are still safe.
Still, that doesn’t mean robots will only be operating with human partners. There are some bots that certainly will displace people in the near future, and you’ll find them in cars. In fact, driving is kind of a strange example that runs counter to most uses of robots and AI. Usually, a lack of creativity or dynamism is seen as a bad thing — a solo customs bot that can’t immediately take action when it thinks it’s being tricked isn’t much good to any government. But, in driving, that human ability to be creative and multitask works against us! Humans get distracted or use their superior cognitive abilities to make poor decisions like drinking and driving. Autonomous cars that are designed with a narrow, focused purpose — just drive and don’t hit anything — will almost inevitably be better drivers than humans once the technology is fully developed (which might not be all that long from now). The same will hold true for repetitive tasks like data entry or stocking.
One thing’s for sure — with a robot in uniform, a robot that does backflips, and a robot that wants to have babies, it’s only going to get wilder from here!
Repost from http://www.chipchick.com/2017/12/ctk-qihan-sanbot-china-customs.html
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