You can visit the Zeno web site www.zenosworld.com (editor's note: the site's URL isn't live yet, but should be available in time for Wired's NextFest) to see the first videos of Hanson's latest creation: a 17-inch-tall, 4.5-pound humanoid robot boy named Zeno. The prototype, which will have a formal unveiling at Wired Nextfest in California next week, is described as an intelligent "conversational robot" and will ultimately be part of Hanson's "Robokind" line of personal, interactive bots. Zeno is still at least two years from commercial availability, but even at this early stage, the child-like robot apparently has some impressive features.

Much like Hanson's partnership with Hubo robotic to build the walking, talking Einstein robot, Hanson's team designed and built Zeno's head and commissioned Robo-Garage impresario Tomotaka Takahashi to build the body, which is modeled after the popular Japanese anime Astroboy. The wireless-controlled prototype can walk, talk, and express emotions.

Zeno's face is covered in Frubber, but Hanson explained it's a more "sophisticated version" than what's found on "Einstein," and is more durable and toy like. Unlike Einstein's face, there aren't any pores or wrinkles; Zeno is, ultimately, a cartoon character with a smooth, almost doll-like visage. Underneath the flexible skin are 12 motors (it has 18 more in its body) that provide Zeno with a wide range of expressions. Behind one of its large eyes is a camera that the robot uses to recognize faces. "[Zeno] recognizes faces better than people do, according to the latest facial recognition tests," said Hanson.

Zeno's voice is generated via text-to-speech both dynamically and from prescript information. In fact, Zeno also tells stories and will recount adventures with its friends in the year 2027. While Zeno may eventually ship with a charging station, the current lithium-polymer prototype needs to be plugged in every hour or so. When low on power, Zeno cries and complains that it's tired. "So kind of an infant-like character. It's where robots are now: they're kind of helpless and it's natural that they should ask for our help," explained Hanson.

Where Zeno diverges from the upcoming Ugobe Pleo, Sony's now discontinued AIBO and even Wow Wee robots, is that much of Zeno's intelligence will reside outside its body. The current prototype is hooked up two PC's, a Linux and a Windows XP box. One runs the animation software and the other Zeno's character engine. The final version will use one network-attached Windows PC and will connect to Zeno via 802.11g WiFi.

It's also the first robot application of Academy Award-winning Massive Software, a product that's been used to animate virtual characters in the Lord of the Rings, I, Robot and King Kong films. Hanson said Zeno uses the software like a "physical brain. It controls body motion and reflexes of the robot and gives it a special awareness." Including, apparently, the ability to keep track of your whereabouts in a room and to turn and make eye contact when Zeno wants to address you.

Hanson has high hopes and big ambitions for Zeno. "We're combining the best artificial intelligence with this theater for fiction so that the way that it's crafted the artistry makes the robot seem like it's more intelligent. It turns robotics into an art medium." However, if the somewhat difficult journey that the closely-watched personal robot, Ugobe Pleo
is taking to the marketplace is any indication, two years to deliver such a potentially sophisticated and affordable robot could be wildly optimistic. Hanson, though, disagrees and told me that two years is achievable.

"There will be compromises. The kind of animation that we're able to deliver in our high-end unit, we think we can get the essence of that into consumer products It may not have 30 servos, but if you're clever in the way you're engineering the product, the technical compromises will be invisible to the user, because the essence of the character will come through."

When Zeno goes on sale in a couple of years, it could cost around $200. However, Hanson's business strategy isn't only about selling automatons to robot geeks; the company plans on launching an interactive web site where subscribers will be able to download new interactions, intelligence, and stories for their Zeno robots.

When asked if Zeno could be designed to ride the similarly-sized Pleo robot dinosaur, Hanson was enthusiastic: "That's a great idea! I think they could be great friends."

A 25-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance Ulanoff is the former Editor in Chief of PCMag.com.
Lance Ulanoff has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases, ?on line? meant ?waiting? and CPU speeds were measured in single-digit megahertz. He?s traveled the globe to report on a vast array of consumer and business technology.
While a digital veteran, Lance spent his early years writing for newspapers and magazines. He?s been online since 1996 and ran Web sites for three national publications: HomePC, Windows Magazine...
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