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Hiroshi Ishiguro's childhood. The creator of geminoid robots, Hiroshi Ishiguro, will give lectures at Skoltech

Hiroshi Ishiguro is included in the World List of “One Hundred Geniuses of Our Time.” In 2005, a scientist created an android girl who replaced his secretary. Then - a robot actress who was able to play in the theater. And in 2006, the inventor became famous for developing a copy of himself, which he called Geminoid HI-1.

“I am a professor, I teach at a university, and since then I can send a copy of an android to give lectures in my place - anyway, almost no one will notice the substitution,” Ishiguro winks. The famous Japanese, the “father” of humanoid robots, came to Moscow at the invitation of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) to give a lecture “Androids and our future life.” The KP correspondent was able to personally communicate with the scientist.

Excuse me, now I can definitely be sure that I’m talking to Professor Ishiguro himself, and not his android copy? - the first thing I ask is just in case.

The inventor calmly hands over a double-sided business card with photographs: “On this side is me, the original, and on the back is my Geminoid HI-1. Similar?".

- Not that word!

“My “colleague” not only gives lectures in his homeland, but also has given speeches abroad - in India, Norway and several other countries,” the scientist continues. - It is very comfortable. True, he travels on the plane not in human form, but disassembled, folded into a couple of suitcases. Can you imagine how customs officers feel when they see a human head in their luggage? But, seriously, as a rule, everyone knows that this is a scientific cargo, and no questions arise.

- Tell us about your latest, newest work.

This is a robot copy of a famous wealthy woman from China. She wants to become a singer, and I created a copy that can master singing skills perfectly. And then the prototype woman will be able to reap the fruits of fame.

- So, your androids are more like entertainment for the rich?

Not at all. Firstly, while these are not commercial projects, the prototype people do not pay for them. Although, in principle, such an opportunity already exists - right now, if you wish, you can order me your copy - the inventor suggests either jokingly or seriously.

- I'm afraid I don't have enough money.

On average, the development and production of one android costs about 100 thousand dollars, says Ishiguro. - But remember how sky-high the first cars, computers, and mobile phones were. And then the technologies moved into mass production, and previously unique technological innovations turned from luxury items into accessible to everyone - many now have several cars and smartphones.

But these are vital things that we cannot do without. Is there an urgent need for humanoid robots for everyone?

Oh, they open up the broadest horizons for us! I am sure that in the near future - literally in 10 years, most of us, just as we now own personal computers, will have personal humanoid robots. And it will no longer be possible to imagine life without them - just as now we cannot imagine it without laptops and smartphones.

The famous scientist, creator of geminoids and telenoids, head of the robotics laboratory at Osaka University (Japan), Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, will visit the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) and give two open lectures.

Professor Ishiguro will give lectures at Skoltech. Poster: Skoltech

On May 14 from 14:00 to 15:30, Professor Ishiguro will give a lecture “Androids and our future life.” On May 15 from 12:00 to 14:00 there will be a lecture “Adaptation to radio-controlled anthropomorphic robots.”

Hiroshi Ishiguro was born in 1964 and became involved in robotics in the 1990s. In 1991, he received a PhD in Engineering from the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, then worked at the universities of Kyoto, California, and Wakayama. In 2003, he headed the robotics laboratory at Osaka University.

Hiroshi Ishiguro became widely known for his work in the field of creating “realistic” robots and his performances at numerous exhibitions and conferences. One of his most famous creations is his “double” - an interactive robot that almost completely copies human behavior and looks like Professor Ishiguro himself. Robots created by the scientist play in the theater, talk and even give lectures.

The Android, created in the image and likeness of Professor Ishigura, appeared back in 2006 and was called Geminoid HI-1. This robot is so advanced that it can replace a professor in teaching at Osaka University - but students do not immediately notice the substitution.

In 2009, Professor Ishiguro created the female robot Geminoid F, which can, for example, act as a secretary in an office or greet guests at the entrance to a restaurant. She smiles, looks at her interlocutor, blinks, talks. In 2010, through the work of Hiroshi Ishiguru, a “telenoid” the size of a child appeared, and in 2011, an “elfoid” was released - a mini-robot that fits in the palm of your hand.

Hiroshi Ishiguro strives to reveal the secrets of cognition, communication, and perception. Do humanoid robots scare people and how can they overcome this fear? Will androids be able to replace humans with uninteresting ones that do not require creativity work? What is a person and what is a robot? The professor raises these and many other questions in his works.

In his lecture at Skoltech, Professor Ishiguro, one of the pioneers in the study of interactive robots, will touch upon important topic: what awaits us in the near future with the penetration of robots into our society. The professor will talk about the possibilities of the robotic world and introduce listeners to androids, which will very soon penetrate many areas of our lives.

Hiroshi Ishiguro (石黒浩) is one of the founders of robotics in general and android engineering in particular. He serves as the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, which is part of the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, Japan. One of the main areas of scientific research at Osaka University is the development of androids, robots that resemble people both in appearance and in behavior.

Hiroshi Ishiguro believes that when developing robots, along with developing behavior and decision-making algorithms, no less attention should be paid to their appearance.
“I created a lot of robots and realized how important their appearance. Robots that look like people feel like they’re alive.”

He also made an android version of himself and called it Geminoid. I even set this android to give lectures at the institute instead of myself. In addition, Dr. Ishiguro took an active part in such projects as: Repliee, Actroid, HRP-4C.

He can also be seen in films such as: Mechanical Love, Plug & Pray, Samsara.

Hiroshi Ishiguro is the twenty-eighth genius from the list of “One Hundred Geniuses of Our Time,” the creator of android robots, one of which is his exact external copy. Ishiguro brings ideas that were recently the stuff of science fiction to life.

But this is not the only goal of the brilliant engineer. One of the reasons for the creation of humanoid robots for Hiroshi Ishiguro, as journalists note, was his intense busyness: two works, permanent exhibitions, presentations. Indeed, young Professor Ishiguro is overly busy and needs an assistant. Why not create a robot - an exact copy of yourself, that is, a duplicate of Hiroshi Ishiguro?

Hiroshi Ishiguro did just that - in 2006 he created an android in his own image and likeness, implementing an interactive control concept in it. He named it Geminoid HI-1, and now the robot will be able to replace a professor teaching at Osaka University. Driving a car to the university along the crowded roads of the city is too tiring for any person, and for Ishiguro, who is extremely busy with ingenious projects, it is an absolute waste of time. Therefore, the professor will now be able to sit at home or in the laboratory and control Geminoid HI-1 from a distance. The robot is so similar to its creator that even attentive students will notice the “forgery” only if they carefully look at the duplicate of their professor at close range.

Another, perhaps the most basic goal of Hiroshi Ishiguro in creating a humanoid robot is to help the scientific world advance in the study of human nature, especially in such little-studied areas as the processes of cognition, communication, and perception.

Geminoid CI-1 is precisely a testing ground for studying the functioning of the cerebellum, which directly controls muscle contraction. Thus, Professor Ishiguro called his method “android science”.

The capabilities of Geminoid XI-1 are still far from the capabilities of fantastic androids, such as those in the film “The Conjecture of Pilot Pirx” based on the stories of Stanislaw Lem. But Hiroshi Ishiguro's double still looks real. He even winces just like the professor when they touch him. Those few micromovements that the robot makes: blinking, fidgeting in the chair, slightly raising its shoulder, simulating breathing, moving its legs, looking around the room, wincing - they all look extremely natural, and shock the audience with their resemblance to a brilliant engineer. But Geminoid XI-1 is still only imitating, it cannot make decisions on its own, this was not the purpose of its creation.

Hiroshi Ishiguro does not stop there. He wants to breathe life, his soul into his double. The professor is trying to add electrodes to Geminoid XI-1 that will make it possible to simulate even more human micromovements, thus creating a complete feeling of the presence of Hiroshi Ishiguro himself.

In 2009, Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro created a robot girl. Perhaps this is exactly what the 19th century French writer Philippe de Lisle-Adam imagined when he described in his novel “Future Eve” an artificial woman Adali, just of the European type. The robot girl's name is Geminoid F (F apparently means Female, that is, woman). Although Geminoid F (Geminoid, emphasis on the second I) costs less than Geminoid HI-1, since it has a smaller degree of freedom, it is more natural. She smiles, looks, and talks. The Geminoids function is a kind of secretarial function - a robot girl replaces the secretary in his absence, and is controlled by a remote operator. The equipment box, which was not hidden in the previous android, is hidden in this female version - also a completely natural solution for a female image.

Researchers at the Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Strugatskys’ story “Monday Begins on Saturday,” who were also involved in creating androids - their duplicates, would probably also give the title “genius” to Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro.

Hiroshi Ishiguro is the twenty-eighth genius from the list of “One Hundred Geniuses of Our Time,” the creator of android robots, one of which is his exact external copy. The photo shows the first android "Actroid Repliee", created with the participation of Hiroshi Ishiguro by the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR) and the Kokoro company. Photo: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images

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Career

In 1991 he defended his dissertation. Since 2003, professor at Osaka University. He heads a laboratory in which he creates robots that can coexist with people.

Awards

Included in the list of One Hundred Living Geniuses (2007)

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Excerpt characterizing Hiroshi Ishiguro

Suddenly, the fabulous Star Bridge unfolded right in front of her. Stretching out, it seemed, into infinity, it sparkled and sparkled with endless clusters of large and small stars, spreading out at her feet like a silver road. In the distance, in the very middle of the same road, completely shrouded in a golden glow, a Man was waiting for Magdalene... He was very tall and looked very strong. Coming closer, Magdalena saw that not everything in this unprecedented creature was so “human”... What struck him most were his eyes - huge and sparkling, as if carved from gemstone, they sparkled with cold edges, like a real diamond. But just like a diamond, they were insensitive and aloof... The stranger’s courageous facial features surprised them with their sharpness and immobility, as if a statue stood in front of Magdalene... Very long, lush hair sparkled and shimmered with silver, as if someone had accidentally scattered stars on it ... The “man” was, indeed, very unusual... But even with all his “icy” coldness, Magdalena clearly felt a wonderful, soul-enveloping peace and warm, sincere kindness coming from the strange stranger. Only for some reason she knew for sure that this kindness was not always the same to everyone.
The “man” raised his palm facing her in greeting and said affectionately:
– Stop, Star... Your Path is not over yet. You can't go Home. Return to Midgard, Maria... And take care of the Key of the Gods. May Eternity protect you.
And then, the powerful figure of the stranger suddenly began to slowly oscillate, becoming completely transparent, as if about to disappear.
- Who are you?.. Please tell me who you are?! – Magdalena shouted pleadingly.
- Wanderer... You will meet me again. Goodbye, Star...
Suddenly the wondrous crystal slammed shut... The miracle ended as unexpectedly as it began. Everything around immediately became chilly and empty... As if it was winter outside.