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This article examines the emerging phenomenon of humanoid social robots and human-humanoid interactions. A central argument of this article is that humanoid social robots belong to a special type of robotic technology used for communicating and interacting with humans. These robotic entities, which can be in either mechanical or digital form, are autonomous, interactive and humanlike. Some of them are used to interact with humans for utilitarian purposes and others are designed to trigger human emotions. Incorporation of such robotic entities into the realm of social life invariably alters the condition as well as the dynamics of human interaction, giving rise to a synthetic society in which humans co-mingle with humanoids. More research is needed to investigate the social and cultural impact of this unfolding robotic revolution.

A 500Kg, self-contained biped robot, named Roboshift, has been conceived and tested to investigate issues associated with the control of industrial scale biped robots. This project represents the first credible attempt to build a heavy weight autonomous biped robot. The recent expansion in humanoid robot development has highlighted advances made in anthropomorphic biped technology. Current research into speech recognition, vision systems, laser topography, artificial intelligence and electroactive polymers will ultimately achieve an Android capable of human like actions and thought processes. Justification for this most demanding and expensive research is based on philanthropic models that suggest these robots will attend to the bedridden, or replace humans in dangerous areas. However, the cost of a biped robot when compared to that of a wheeled or tracked vehicle restricts commercialisation for these applications. As well, the size and working capacity of current humanoid robots is not compatible with the heavy lifting requirements found in such environments. It is proposed that only biped robots of an industrial scale, possessing a capacity much greater than that of a human, will be of commercial value in the future. Typical applications may include the handling of materials in confined or uneven terrain, where a forklift or other commercially available materials handling equipment would be unsuitable. For example, field handling in military, mining or geological environments. Minimal research has been conducted into the realisation of such a device, which presents challenges in terms of the magnitude of dynamic forces produced and of the systems required to control the robot in real-time. Review of relevant literature reveals that little research has been completed in this field. Therefore, operational characteristics for an industrial scale biped robot are defined. The design then details the structure and integration of mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical systems. Roboshift is powered by an internal ...

The book devotes itself to novel robots, humanoid and bio-robotic problems, challenges in control and motion synthesis, the kinematical and dynamical analysis of robotic systems, perception problems, space robots, and other promising innovative mechanisms and technologies. The authors deal with the problems involved in the coexistence of humans and personal robots providing assistance to people doing housework, or to the elderly and the handicapped, as well as the robots working with or without human help during space missions. To effectively work and cooperate with us, robots must exhibit abilities that are comparable to those of humans. The book describes the ongoing efforts to design and develop human-friendly robotic systems that can safely and effectively interact and work with humans. Mans determination to explore outer space has stimulated the progress being made in robotics, for it has involved specific requirements, limitations and new targets for the designers. The aim of this publication is to present the research results in robotics that are now state of the art, and indicate the possible future lines of development.