Communication Robots and Computer Science

Participant Profile

Michita Imai

Michita Imai

Michita Imai (Associate Professor, Department of Information and Computer Science)

A variety of robots are now being created, such as Sony's AIBO and QRIO, Honda's ASIMO, and Toyota's Partner Robot. Behind the success of these robots lies research and development related to their physical structure and movement, such as machining and motion control. However, for robots to talk with humans and act with an understanding of them, it is crucial to figure out how to create their intelligence. In the field of computer science, we have been studying how to realize machine intelligence and how to make intelligent machines useful in human life through research in areas such as artificial intelligence, spoken dialogue processing, image processing, sensor information integration, and communication support.

The intelligent processing cultivated in computer science will become essential for robots to operate while interacting with humans in the future. For example, imagine a scene where a robot starts introducing a product, saying, "Take a look at this." Various technologies are required just to convey this single phrase to a person. Just to begin explaining a product, a variety of technologies must be appropriately intertwined: the technology for the robot to find the product with its sensors, the technology to point its arm at the found product, the technology to generate words with its voice, the technology to express its focus of attention by repeatedly moving its gaze between the person and the product, and the technology to determine whether the person is paying attention to the product.

By combining computer science, which has studied intelligence without a body, with robotics, which has mastered the technologies of the body, robots that can teach us various things while being by our side will likely become familiar in the future.