A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion , or for other purposes. In general, humanoid robots have a torso, a head, two arms, and two legs, though some humanoid robots may replicate only part of the body. Androids are humanoid robots built to aesthetically resemble humans.
57-448: Nao (pronounced now ) is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot formerly developed by Aldebaran Robotics, a French robotics company headquartered in Paris , which was acquired by SoftBank Group in 2015 and rebranded as SoftBank Robotics . The robot's development began with the launch of Project Nao in 2004. On 15 August 2007, Nao replaced Sony 's robot dog Aibo as the robot used in
114-591: A "dumbing pill", and asked to figure out which of them hadn't. After initially replying he didn't know, the non-muted robot was able to figure out he hadn't been given the dumbing pill after hearing the sound of his own voice. In September 2015, the French Institute of Health and Medical Research used Nao robots to test a system of robotic "autobiographical memory" designed to help train International Space Station crews and assist elderly patients. Nao
171-914: A human being can, so long as they have the proper software . However, the complexity of doing so is immense. Humanoid robots have had a long history in the realm of entertainment, from the conception and ideas in the story of Prometheus to the application and physical build of modern animatronics used for theme parks . Current uses and development of humanoid robots in theme parks are focused on creating stuntronics. Stuntronics are humanoid robots built for serving as stunt doubles, and are designed to simulate life-like, untethered, dynamic movement. Several Disney theme park shows utilize animatronic robots that look, move and speak much like human beings. Although these robots look realistic, they have no cognition or physical autonomy. Various humanoid robots and their possible applications in daily life are featured in an independent documentary film called Plug & Pray , which
228-403: A humanoid robot using electric actuators is HRP-2 . Hydraulic actuators produce higher power than electric actuators and pneumatic actuators, and they have the ability to control the torque they produce better than other types of actuators. However, they can become very bulky in size. One solution to counter the size issue is electro-hydrostatic actuators (EHA). The most popular example of
285-508: A humanoid robot using hydraulic actuators is the ATLAS robot made by Boston Dynamics . Pneumatic actuators operate on the basis of gas compressibility . As they are inflated, they expand along the axis, and as they deflate, they contract. If one end is fixed, the other will move in a linear trajectory . A popular example of a pneumatic actuator is the Mac Kibben muscle . Planning in robots
342-694: A large minority shareholder in the Master Trust Bank of Japan , Morgan Stanley in the United States, Security Bank in the Philippines, and Vietinbank in Vietnam. It retains strong links with the Mitsubishi Group and is often described as one of that group’s "Three Great Houses", together with Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries . MUFG is Japan's largest financial group and one of
399-463: A learning application that helps to learn languages with NAO. Humanoid robot The concept of a humanoid robot originated in many different cultures around the world. Some of the earliest accounts of the idea of humanoid automata date to the 4th century BCE in Greek mythologies and various religious and philosophical texts from China. Physical prototypes of humanoid automata were later created in
456-569: A major concept, the Zero Moment Point (ZMP). Another characteristic of humanoid robots is that they move, gather information (using sensors) on the "real world", and interact with it. They do not stay still like factory manipulators and other robots that work in highly structured environments. To allow humanoids to move in complex environments, planning and control must focus on self-collision detection, path planning and obstacle avoidance . Humanoid robots do not yet have some features of
513-595: A person. In the films, androids called " replicants " are created indistinguishably from human beings, yet they are shunned and do not possess the same rights as humans. This theme incites audience sympathy while also sparking unease at the idea of humanoid robots mimicking humans too closely. Humanoid robots, which are designed to resemble and mimic human form and behavior, have faced several criticisms: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. ( MUFG ; 株式会社三菱UFJフィナンシャル・グループ , Kabushiki gaisha Mitsubishi Yūefujei Finansharu Gurūpu )
570-764: A policy bank, reorganized after World War II as Bank of Tokyo ), Sanwa Bank (est. 1933 by merger of prior institutions), and Tokai Bank (est. 1941 by merger). MUFG holds assets of around US$ 2.7 trillion as of 2024 and is the parent company of fully-owned MUFG Bank (branded Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ or BTMU until July 2018 ), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation , Mitsubishi UFJ Securities , Mitsubishi UFJ Capital , and MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation ; majority shareholder of Bank Danamon in Indonesia, Bank of Ayudhya in Thailand, and Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS in Japan; and
627-625: A software suite that includes a graphical programming tool dubbed Choregraphe , a simulation software package and a software developer's kit . Nao is furthermore compatible with the Microsoft Robotics Studio , Cyberbotics Webots , and the Gostai Studio ( URBI ). In August 2018, RobotLAB released Engage! K12. It is an online learning platform for schools that enhance the use of NAO for STEM, Coding and Engineering. In February 2018, Finnish company Utelias Technologies released Elias Robot,
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#1732902754101684-743: A suit of armor, capable of sitting, standing, and independently moving its arms. The entire robot was operated by a system of pulleys and cables. From the 17th to 19th centuries, the Japanese built humanoid automata called karakuri puppets . These puppets resembled dolls and were used for entertainment in theatre, homes, and religious festivals. Karakuri puppets that were used for theater plays were called butai karakuri . Small karakuri puppets found in homes, called zashiki kurakuri , were placed on tables to dance, beat drums, or serve drinks. The puppets used in religious festivals were known as Dashi karakuri , and they served to reenact myths and legends. In
741-641: A synchronized dance routine at the Shanghai Expo in China . In October 2010, the University of Tokyo purchased 30 Nao robots for their Nakamura Lab, with hopes of developing the robots into active laboratory assistants. In December 2010, a Nao robot was demonstrated doing a stand-up comedy routine, and a new version of the robot was released, featuring sculpted arms and improved motors. In May 2011, Aldebaran announced that it would release Nao's controlling source code to
798-446: A variety of terrain and environments. The question of walking biped robots stabilization on the surface is of great importance. Maintenance of the robot's gravity center over the center of bearing area for providing a stable position can be chosen as a goal of control. To maintain dynamic balance during the walk , a robot needs information about contact force and its current and desired motion. The solution to this problem relies on
855-541: Is a Japanese bank holding and financial services company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo , Japan. MUFG was created in 2005 by merger between Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group ( 株式会社三菱東京フィナンシャル・グループ , Kabushiki kaisha mitsubishi tōkyō finansharu gurūpu ) and UFJ Holdings (株式会社UFJホールディングス; kabushikigaisha yūefujei hōrudingusu ). These two groups in turn brought together multiple predecessor banks including Mitsubishi Bank (est. 1880), Yokohama Specie Bank (est. 1880 as
912-453: Is available as a research robot for schools, colleges and universities to teach programming and conduct research into human-robot interactions. In August 2018, RobotLAB released an online learning platform for schools that enhance the use of NAO for STEM, Coding and Engineering. Since its release in 2004, Nao has been tested and deployed in a number of healthcare scenarios, including usage in care homes and in schools. The various versions of
969-400: Is ideal for these actuators to have high power, low mass, and small dimensions. Electric actuators are the most popular types of actuators in humanoid robots. These actuators are smaller in size, and a single electric actuator may not produce enough power for a human-sized joint. Therefore, it is common to use multiple electric actuators for a single joint in a humanoid robot. An example of
1026-444: Is the process of planning out motions and trajectories for the robot to carry out. Control is the actual execution of these planned motions and trajectories. In humanoid robots, the planning must carry out biped motions, meaning that robots should plan motions similar to a human. Since one of the main uses of humanoid robots is to interact with humans, it is important for the planning and control mechanisms of humanoid robots to work in
1083-529: The 2008 ALB Japan Law Awards , Mitsubishi UFJ was crowned: In April 2011, MUFG and Morgan Stanley entered into an agreement to convert MUFG's outstanding convertible preferred stock in Morgan Stanley into Morgan Stanley stock. In June 2011, MUFG took a 9.99 percent stake in Lynas Corp, an Australian rare earths developer. On April 1, 2018, the bank was renamed to MUFG Bank Ltd. This name change aligned
1140-499: The Financial Stability Board . MUFG was formed by three successive mergers in a sequence that lasted less than a decade, respectively between Bank of Tokyo and Mitsubishi Bank in 1996, between Sanwa Bank , Tokai Bank and Toyo Trust and Banking in 2000-2002, and between the two resulting entities in 2005. The institutions involved in these mergers combined multiple threads of Japanese financial history, going back to
1197-491: The Middle East , Italy , Japan , and France . The Greek god of blacksmiths, Hephaestus , created several different humanoid automata in various myths. In Homer's Iliad, Hephaestus created golden handmaidens and imbued them with human-like voices to serve as speaking tools or instruments. Another Greek myth details how Hephaestus crafted a giant bronze automaton named Talos to protect the island of Crete from invaders. In
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#17329027541011254-644: The RoboCup Standard Platform League (SPL) , an international robot soccer competition. The Nao was used in RoboCup 2008 and 2009, and the NaoV3R was chosen as the platform for the SPL at RoboCup 2010. Several versions of the robot have been released since 2008. The Nao Academics Edition was developed for universities and laboratories for research and education purposes. It was released to institutions in 2008, and
1311-545: The University of Tokyo , the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur , Saudi Arabia 's King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals , University of South Wales and Montana State University . In 2012, donated Nao robots were used to teach autistic children in a UK school; some of the children found the childlike, expressive robots more relatable than human beings. In a broader context, Nao robots have been used by numerous British schools to introduce children to robots and
1368-673: The Yokohama Specie Bank in 1880, while Mitsubishi Bank had had a stronger focus on domestic corporate and retail banking. Both banks were relatively healthy in the wake of the Japanese asset price bubble . The merged bank was the fully-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG), based in Tokyo. Until the Tokyo-Mitsubishi merger in 1996, Sanwa Bank , which was based in Osaka and
1425-632: The yakuza crime syndicates. The takeover of UFJ by the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group was challenged by the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group which launched a competing takeover bid. MTFG ultimately prevailed in the fight, which appeared to signal an end to the clubby atmosphere that had prevailed in Japan's postwar banking industry. MUFG and SMFG eventually settled the legal dispute for 2.5 billion yen in late 2006. The merged holding company MUFG, based on Tokyo,
1482-419: The 13th century, a Muslim engineer named Ismail al-Jazari designed various humanoid automata. He created a waitress robot that would dispense drinks from a liquid reservoir and appear out of an automatic door to serve them. Another automaton he created was used for hand washing to refill a basin with water after being drained. In the 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci conceptualized a complex mechanical robot clad in
1539-449: The 18th century, French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson created a significant humanoid automaton called The Flute Player . This wooden, human-sized robot was capable of playing various melodies with the flute. It consisted of a system of bellows, pipes, weights, and other mechanical components to simulate to the muscles necessary to play the flute. Humanoid robots are now used as research tools in several scientific areas. Researchers study
1596-558: The 3rd century BCE, a Taoist philosophical text called the Liezi , written by Chinese philosopher Lie Yukou , detailed the idea of a humanoid automaton. The text includes mention of an engineer named Yan Shi who created a life-size, human-like robot for the fifth king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty, King Mu . The robot was primarily constructed of leather and wood. It was capable of walking, singing, and moving all parts of its body. In
1653-735: The Nao robotics platform feature either 2, 14, 21 or 25 degrees of freedom (DoF). A specialized model with 21 DoF and no actuated hands was created for the Robocup competition. All Nao Academics versions feature an inertial measurement unit with accelerometer , gyroscope and four ultrasonic sensors that provide Nao with stability and positioning within space. The legged versions included eight force-sensing resistors and two bumpers. The 2014 Nao Evolution, featured stronger metallic joints, improved grip and an enhanced sound source location system that utilizes four directional microphones. The most recent version, Nao⁶
1710-475: The New York Stock Exchange in 1999. In 2008, BTMU purchased all of the outstanding shares of UnionBanCal. BTMU moved its New York-based banking operations to Union Bank and renamed the company MUFG Union Bank in 2014. BTMU was investigated by New York banking regulators over its role in routing payments for Iranian customers through its New York branch in violation of U.S. sanctions. BTMU settled with
1767-558: The T-800 in Terminator and Megatron in Transformers . An Indian Tamil-language film which showed the pros and cons of a humanoid robot Chitti . Another prominent theme found in science fiction regarding humanoid robots focuses on personhood. Certain films, particularly Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 , explore whether or not a constructed, synthetic being should be considered
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1824-620: The acceleration, from which velocity can be calculated by integration; tilt sensors to measure inclination; force sensors placed in robot's hands and feet to measure contact force with environment; position sensors that indicate the actual position of the robot (from which the velocity can be calculated by derivation); and even speed sensors. Arrays of tactels can be used to provide data on what has been touched. The Shadow Hand uses an array of 34 tactels arranged beneath its polyurethane skin on each finger tip. Tactile sensors also provide information about forces and torques transferred between
1881-665: The early Meiji era . MUFG incorporates several of the National Banks in Meiji Japan , which were numbered in accordance with their chronological date of establishment between 1873 and 1880: Mitsubishi Bank and the Bank of Tokyo merged in 1996 to form the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, which at that point was the world's largest bank in terms of total assets. The Bank of Tokyo had historically focused on foreign exchange business since its foundation as
1938-427: The ears of the human being. Microphones are usually used for the robots to convey speech. Actuators are the motors responsible for motion in the robot. Humanoid robots are constructed in such a way that they mimic the human body. They use actuators that perform like muscles and joints , though with a different structure. The actuators of humanoid robots can be either electric, pneumatic , or hydraulic . It
1995-435: The employees of its predecessor companies. UFJ was one of the largest shareholders of Toyota . The Chairman of Toyota was a director on its board during the financial scandals and indictments of three UFJ executives. In July 2004, UFJ Holdings, by then Japan's fourth-largest financial group, offered to merge with the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group. UFJ had been accused by the government of corruption and making bad loans to
2052-425: The enhancement of ordinary humans. See transhumanism . Humanoid robots are a valuable resource in the world of medicine and biotechnology, as well as other fields of research such as biomechanics and cognitive science. Humanoid robots are being used to develop complex prosthetics for individuals with physical disabilities such as missing limbs. The WABIAN-2 is a new medical humanoid robot created to help patients in
2109-501: The human body structure and behavior (biomechanics) to build humanoid robots. On the other side, the attempt to simulate the human body leads to a better understanding of it. Human cognition is a field of study which is focused on how humans learn from sensory information in order to acquire perceptual and motor skills. This knowledge is used to develop computational models of human behavior, and it has been improving over time. It has been suggested that very advanced robotics will facilitate
2166-438: The human body. They include structures with variable flexibility, which provide safety (to the robot itself and to the people), and redundancy of movements, i.e. more degrees of freedom and therefore wide task availability. Although these characteristics are desirable to humanoid robots, they will bring more complexity and new problems to planning and control. The field of whole-body control deals with these issues and addresses
2223-498: The merger and the combined company was to be called United Financial Holdings. The merger was completed in 2002 and the new bank was officially named UFJ Bank Ltd. UFJ Bank was headquartered in Nagoya , the historical headquarters of Tokai Bank, while its parent UFJ Holdings (UFJH) was based in Osaka . During its short life, the group was plagued by bad debt problems and by infighting between
2280-464: The need to turn back around again and return to Earth once the mission is completed. A sensor is a device that measures some attribute of the world. Being one of the three primitives of robotics (besides planning and control), sensing plays an important role in robotic paradigms . Sensors can be classified according to the physical process with which they work or according to the type of measurement information that they give as output. In this case,
2337-437: The practice and development of personalized healthcare aids, essentially performing as robotic nurses for demographics such as the elderly. Humanoids are also suitable for some procedurally-based vocations, such as reception-desk administrators and automotive manufacturing line workers. In essence, since they can use tools and operate equipment and vehicles designed for the human form, humanoids could theoretically perform any task
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2394-746: The proper coordination of numerous degrees of freedom, e.g. to realize several control tasks simultaneously while following a given order of priority. A common theme for the depiction of humanoid robots in science fiction pertains to how they can help humans in society or serve as threats to humanity. This theme essentially questions whether artificial intelligence is a force of good or bad for mankind. Humanoid robots that are depicted as good for society and benefit humans are Commander Data in Star Trek and C-3PO in Star Wars . Opposite portrayals where humanoid robots are shown as scary and threatening to humans are
2451-713: The public as open source software. In June 2011, Aldebaran raised US$ 13 million in a round of venture funding led by Intel Capital. In 2013, Aldebaran was acquired by Japan's SoftBank Mobile for US$ 100 million. In December 2011, Aldebaran released the Nao Next Gen, featuring hardware and software enhancements such as high-density cameras, improved robustness, anti-collision systems and a faster walking speed. The Nao Evolution, featuring enhanced durability, improved multilingual speech synthesis, improved shape and facial detection and recognition using new algorithms, and improved sound source location using four directional microphones,
2508-421: The rehabilitation of their lower limbs. Although the initial aim of humanoid research was to build better orthosis and prosthesis for human beings, knowledge has been transferred between both disciplines. A few examples are powered leg prosthesis for the neuromuscularly impaired, ankle-foot orthosis, biological realistic leg prosthesis, and forearm prosthesis. Humanoid robots can be used as test subjects for
2565-438: The robot and other objects. Vision refers to processing data from any modality which uses the electromagnetic spectrum to produce an image. In humanoid robots it is used to recognize objects and determine their properties. Vision sensors work most similarly to the eyes of human beings. Most humanoid robots use CCD cameras as vision sensors. Sound sensors allow humanoid robots to hear speech and environmental sounds, akin to
2622-475: The robot under "Project Nao" in 2004. Six prototypes of Nao were designed between 2005 and 2007. In March 2008, the first production version of the robot, the Nao RoboCup Edition, was released to the contestants of that year's RoboCup. The Nao Academics Edition was released to universities, educational institutions and research laboratories in late 2008. In the summer of 2010, Nao made global headlines with
2679-585: The robotics industry. By the end of 2014, over 5,000 Nao robots were in use with educational and research institutions in 70 countries. In 2015, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group began trialing Nao robots for customer service use in its Japanese bank branches. In July 2015, Nao robots were shown to demonstrate a basic form of self-awareness in a philosophical experiment at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, in which three robots were set up, muting two of them; they were then told that two of them had been given
2736-477: The second approach was used. Proprioceptive sensors sense the position, orientation, and speed of the humanoid's body and joints, along with other internal values. In human beings, the otoliths and semi-circular canals (in the inner ear) are used to maintain balance and orientation. Additionally, humans use their own proprioceptive sensors (e.g. touch, muscle extension, limb position) to help with their orientation. Humanoid robots use accelerometers to measure
2793-465: The state for $ 250 million in 2013. A second settlement was reached for $ 315 million in 2014 after it was found that PricewaterhouseCoopers had altered an investigation report on the issue; PwC itself was fined $ 25 million in relation to the matter. In September 2008, MUFG signed a letter of intent with Morgan Stanley to form an alliance and purchase 20% of the American firm. In 2008 at
2850-550: The two banking giants, caused the merger of the banks to be postponed for three months. The trust banking and securities units of MTFG and UFJ were merged according to the original schedule on 1 October 2005. Mitsubishi Bank and the Bank of Tokyo each had significant banking subsidiaries in California ( Bank of California and Union Bank respectively) before their merger. At the time of the merger, these U.S. banks also merged to form UnionBanCal Corporation . BTM listed UnionBanCal on
2907-410: The world's ten largest bank holding companies holding around US$ 1.5 trillion (JP¥227 trillion) in deposits as of April 2024. In Japan, it is the largest of the three so-called megabanks with $ 2.9 trillion in total assets at end-March 2023, ahead of SMBC Group ($ 2.0 trillion) and Mizuho Financial Group ($ 1.9 trillion). It has been consistently listed as a systemically important bank by
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#17329027541012964-412: Was formed on 1 October 2005 from the merger of MTFG and UFJH. The two banks, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UFJ Bank, merged on 1 January 2006 to form MUFG Bank . The latter transaction was originally scheduled to take place on 1 October 2005, the same day that the parent companies were merged. However, pressure from Japan's Financial Services Agency , which wanted to ensure the smooth systems integration of
3021-468: Was introduced in June 2018. The Nao robot is controlled by a specialized Linux -based operating system , dubbed NAOqi. The OS powers the robot's multimedia system, which includes four microphones (for voice recognition and sound localization ), two speakers (for multilingual text-to-speech synthesis) and two HD cameras (for computer vision , including facial and shape recognition). The robot also comes with
3078-457: Was made publicly available by 2011. Various upgrades to the Nao platform have since been released, including the 2011 Nao Next Gen, the 2014 Nao Evolution and the 2018 Nao⁶ Nao robots have been used for research and education purposes in numerous academic institutions worldwide. As of 2024, over 13,000 Nao units are in use in more than 70 countries. Aldebaran Robotics was established in 2005 by Bruno Maisonnier, who had previously begun developing
3135-747: Was released in 2010. Though many real-world applications for humanoid robots are unexplored, their primary use is to demonstrate up-and-coming technologies. Modern examples of humanoid robots, such as the Honda Asimo, are revealed to the public in order to demonstrate new technological advancements in motor skills, such as walking, climbing, and playing an instrument. Other humanoid robots have been developed for household purposes, however excel only in single purpose skills and are far from autonomous. Humanoid robots, especially those with artificial intelligence algorithms , could be useful for future dangerous and/or distant space exploration missions , without having
3192-497: Was released in June 2014. Aldebaran Robotics was acquired by SoftBank Group in 2015 and rebranded as SoftBank Robotics. In July 2022, the French company was sold to United Robotics Group and rebranded Aldebaran again. Since 2011, over 200 academic institutions worldwide have made use of the robot, including the University of Hertfordshire and their Bold Hearts RoboCup Team , the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad ,
3249-584: Was the anchor of the Sanwa Group keiretsu , had been considered the strongest bank in Japan, and it had aimed to be the world's largest bank during the "bubble era". By 2000, however, Sanwa was the fourth largest bank in Japan. It entered into merger talks with two other large banks, Asahi Bank and Tokai Bank , to create the world's third-largest bank by assets. Asahi pulled out of these talks later that year, and eventually became part of Resona Holdings . By 2001, The Toyo Trust & Banking Co. had been added to
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