Hiroshi Ishiguro
Encyclopedia
Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro (石黒浩 Ishiguro Hiroshi) is director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University
, Japan
. A notable development of the laboratory is the actroid, a humanoid robot with lifelike appearance and visible behaviour such as facial movements.
In robot development, Professor Ishiguro concentrates on the idea of making a robot that is as similar as possible to a live human being; at the unveiling in July 2005 of the "female" android named Repliee Q1Expo, he was quoted as saying
"I have developed many robots before, but I soon realised the importance of its appearance. A human-like appearance gives a robot a strong feeling of presence. ... Repliee Q1Expo can interact with people. It can respond to people touching it. It's very satisfying, although we obviously have a long way to go yet." In his opinion, it may be possible to build an android that is indistinguishable from a human, at least during a brief encounter.
Ishiguro has made an android that resembles him, called the Geminoid. The Geminoid was among the robots featured by James May
in his 5 October 2008 BBC2 documentary on robots Man-Machine in his series Big Ideas
. Ishiguro has been listed as one of the 15 Asian Scientists To Watch by Asian Scientist Magazine
on 15 May 2011.
Osaka University
, or , is a major national university located in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan as the Osaka Prefectural Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. A notable development of the laboratory is the actroid, a humanoid robot with lifelike appearance and visible behaviour such as facial movements.
In robot development, Professor Ishiguro concentrates on the idea of making a robot that is as similar as possible to a live human being; at the unveiling in July 2005 of the "female" android named Repliee Q1Expo, he was quoted as saying
"I have developed many robots before, but I soon realised the importance of its appearance. A human-like appearance gives a robot a strong feeling of presence. ... Repliee Q1Expo can interact with people. It can respond to people touching it. It's very satisfying, although we obviously have a long way to go yet." In his opinion, it may be possible to build an android that is indistinguishable from a human, at least during a brief encounter.
Ishiguro has made an android that resembles him, called the Geminoid. The Geminoid was among the robots featured by James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
in his 5 October 2008 BBC2 documentary on robots Man-Machine in his series Big Ideas
James May's Big Ideas
James May's Big Ideas is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his big ideas...
. Ishiguro has been listed as one of the 15 Asian Scientists To Watch by Asian Scientist Magazine
Asian Scientist Magazine
Asian Scientist Magazine is a science & technology magazine that was launched as an MIT alumni start-up in March 2011 by the company, Asian Scientist LLP....
on 15 May 2011.
Career
- 1986.3 : Graduate of University of YamanashiUniversity of YamanashiThe is a university that has campuses in Kofu and Tamaho, Japan. It was founded in 1949 by a merger between Yamanashi University and Yamanashi Medical University...
- 1991.3 : Graduate of the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka UniversityOsaka University, or , is a major national university located in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan as the Osaka Prefectural Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan...
- 1994.10 : Associate Professor at Kyoto UniversityKyoto University, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
- 1998.3 : Visiting Fellow of University of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, San DiegoThe University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
- 2000.4 : Associate Professor of Wakayama UniversityWakayama University, or , is a national university located in Wakayama, Japan. It was founded in 1949 and is organized in three faculties.-History:Wakayama University was established in May 1949 as a new style of university with a goal and mission of "undertaking research and education in highly specialized academic...
- 2001.4 : Professor of Wakayama University
- 2003.4 : Professor of Osaka University
Books
List at Osaka University websitePapers
List at Osaka University websiteMovie appearances
- Mechanical Love (2007) Ishiguro and his work forms a major component of this documentary on the interrelationship between humans and robots.
- Surrogates (2009) During the opening montage showing the development of the surrogates, there appears footage of Ishiguro and his Geminoid.
- Plug & PrayPlug & PrayPlug & Pray is a 2010 documentary film about the promise, problems and ethics of artificial intelligence and robotics. The main protagonists are the former MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum and the futurist Raymond Kurzweil.- Synopsis :...
(2010) Ishiguro is one of the scientists featured in the film
Awards
- Best paper award at the 4th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2009), March 2009
- Best paper and poster awards at the 2nd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2007), March 2007
- Best Humanoid Award (Kid size) at RoboCup 2006 (Bremen, Germany)