Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

BERTI Robot Gestures, Plays Rock-Paper-Scissors

The BERTI robot has made its public debut at London's Science Museum today. BERTI, which stands for Bristol Elumotion Robotic Torso 1, has been designed to produce "credible conversational gestures" by its designers at Elumotion Ltd.


(BERTI robot - Bristol Elumotion Robotic Torso 1)

In order to investigate the above hypotheses participant studies are being conducted where naive users assess the gesture production system. An initial pilot study has been conducted to assess gesture features that are salient to the experimental participants; briefly these were timing, smoothness, natural posture at endpoints and gesture shape (trajectory). These features and other data from the pilot study are being used to inform the design and assessment of future experiments.In the first of the informed experiments we have carried out participants compared the performance of the robot with a video recording of their own performance. The robot performance rated highly in the four metrics despite a significantly poorer rating in similarity with each users performance; this is a promising initial result.

Take a look at this video of BERTI the gesturing robot in action.


(The gestures performed are (in order):
Open hand supine
Open hand: vertical palm
Open hand prone: vertical palm
Open hand prone

From Bristol Robotics Laboratory)

At the London Science Museum, BERTI plays rock-paper-scissors with visitors. When visitors make use of a sensor glove, BERTI can make the determination as to who won the game.


(BERTI Robot rock, paper, scissors video)

My personal favorite science fictional gesturing robot is of course the one in the 1960's era American television series Lost in Space. Danger, Will Robinson!


(The Robot is understandably alarmed)

From Metro UK and Bristol Robotics Laboratory.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/17/2009)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )

Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")

ESTHER Tennis Robot V. Fact (1934) And Fiction (1952)
'THE red tennis robot scooted desperately across the court...' - HB Fyfe, 1952.

EELS Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor For Enceladus
'It was about five feet long... a black bullet head and red camera eyes.' - Susan Brownstone, 2012.

Helpful Robots In Science Fiction
'If you douse me again... I'm donating you to a city college.' - Iron Man, 2008.

SayCan with PaLM - Google's Robot Helper
The older I get, the more interested I am in helpful robots.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

ESTHER Tennis Robot V. Fact (1934) And Fiction (1952)
'THE red tennis robot scooted desperately across the court...'

Japan's LignoSat Space Wood Satellite And Dan Simmons' Treeship
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'

Skyline Robotics Instantiates Heinlein's 'Window Willie' Skyscraper Robot
'Do you know what window washing used to cost by the hour?'

Drone Bombings In Moscow Foreseen 100 Years Ago
'Once the target is confirmed, it uses an IR laser to send a coded signal back to the parent, clearing it to attack.'

I Didn't Know You Can Already Buy Flesh Putty
'I filled your bullet hole with flesh putty and the lattice.'

'A Sign in Space' Gives Practice In Decoding ET Messages
'... it will be easy to form an alphabet which shall enable us to converse with the inhabitants of the moon.'

Melting Permafrost Endangers Infrastructure
'From the tower's huge octagonal base radiate wide silvery strips...'

EELS Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor For Enceladus
'It was about five feet long... a black bullet head and red camera eyes.'

Lazy Lawyer's Trust In ChatGPT Misplaced
'The Law Society has strict rules on the use of pseudo-intelligent software...'

Paradromics Implant FDA 'Breakthrough Device'
'I used my implant to tell MILLIE what we wanted...'

Mice, At Least, Can Sober Up Quickly
'Then draw some aldodote-vitamin pills from the medic.'

Is It Time For Lunar Farside Telescopes?
'Mount Ambarzumian Observatory, on Farside.'

Spaceflight Vertigo Solved By NASA Releasing The Kraken
"I threw up in my helmet."

TM-62 Loitering Ground Landmine
Runaway movie comes to life!

Helpful Robots In Science Fiction
'If you douse me again... I'm donating you to a city college.'

Lunar Pogo Stick - Retro Technovelgy From 1968
'Lucky touched the leap knob...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.