Musashi: A humanoid robot designed especially to operate cars
This creative approach could allow traditional cars to be driven by robotic chauffeurs.
Musashi is a humanoid robot designed by scientists at the University of Tokyo to operate regular cars. While creating driverless cars has been a major challenge for companies like Tesla and Google, Dr. Kento Kawaharazuka and his team took a different path.
Rather than focusing on a fully autonomous vehicle, they developed Musashi, a robot with a musculoskeletal structure that mimics the human body. This creative approach could allow traditional cars to be driven by robotic chauffeurs.
It stands out from other robots due to its detailed design. It features 74 “muscles” and 39 joints, excluding its hands, which have five fingers each equipped with pressure sensors. This design facilitates to handle complex tasks such as steering, using pedals, applying the handbrake, turning the ignition key, and signaling turns.
Equipped with high-resolution cameras linked to artificial intelligence systems, Musashi’s eyes can identify people in side mirrors and respond to traffic changes, like altering lights or pedestrians crossing streets.
Currently, Musashi can only drive straight or make right turns, achieving a top speed of 3 mph. As Dr. Kawaharazuka nmentions, “the robot’s speed and handling capabilities are not yet comparable to those of human drivers.”
However, substantial challenges remain. Technology needs further improvement, and people must grow accustomed to the idea of robotic drivers sharing our roads. As developments continue, it will be intriguing to see how society embraces the concept of robotic chauffeurs.
You might also be interested in – Robot’s suicide in South Korea causes shock, stirs debate over workload and ethics
