AREE - From the front range's Daily Camera - Business section:
Boulder company says its technology will change the industry
By Matt Branaugh - Camera Business Writer
"..R 2 D 2..", where are you?
He may not be in a galaxy too far away. A Boulder company developing robots that can interact with
humans will launch its first one in May.
The robot created by Boulder-based Seventh Generation Technologies Inc., or 7GT, will be the first
tangible evidence of work already proven by 7GT staff in a virtual reality setting.
7GT is building the "brains" of the robot. Two other Boulder-based firms are on board: Acroname Inc. is
constructing its body, while Arete Technologies has provided the financing and business resources for 7GT
as it continues its research and development.
The demand for human interaction with robotics is growing, said Tom Gorman, Arete's chief financial
officer and a co-founder of 7GT. The technology developed by co-founders Bill Hutchison and Ken
Stephens prompted Arete to invest in the company, he said. 7GT has nine employees working in its office
on Valmont Road.
7GT robots will understand verbal commands in their internal computer and will be able to react to them,
Hutchison said, which means they can learn. Complex human-to-machine communication is out of reach
for now, but robots should be able to understand simple commands, he said.
"Their application of modern human behavior, psychology and conditioning approach, instead of the
traditional ways of programming, has created some breakthrough opportunities," Gorman said.
Humans have shown that they want to interact with robots on some level, Gorman said, pointing to the
Sony Aibo, a robotic dog that hit shelves in December. Aibo's model ERS-210 has four sensors for touch,
hearing, sight and balance. It includes a built-in camera, stereo microphone and speaker.
Gorman said the public's interest in Aibo shows the possibilities companies like 7GT can explore.
What excites Hutchison, the director and chief scientist of 7GT's behavioral robotics team, is the continued
development of neural network software he began exploring in the mid-1980s. He and Stephens started a
company in Maryland called BehavHeuristics, which used Hutchison's neural network software to help
airlines strategically arrange seat availability for flights.
Using the software, airlines recorded two years' worth of flight data that included passenger type, the
season of the flight, and the flight's destination. The neural network deciphered patterns and produced
information airlines could use to organize more attractive flight options for customers.
USAir, now US Airways, an airline that used BehavHeuristics, generated more than $140 million in
additional revenue the first year alone, according to 7GT. The software was a finalist for the
Computerworld Smithsonian award of innovation and quality.
Hutchison and Stephens both said the world of robotics has progressed from the first generation of artificial
intelligence to the sixth generation of neural networks.
The duo considers their newest line of product the seventh generation of robotics, which inspired the
company to change names from VerbalTech Labs to 7GT in December. Hutchison has two patents on the
technology and two more are pending.
When Hutchison left BehavHeuristics in 1993 to start VerbalTech Labs in Boulder — Stephens followed
suit in 1998 to become a co-director and CEO for the language learning division — it was because of his
interest in combining those neural networks with genetic algorithms. Both Hutchison and Stephens have
extensive knowledge of language and psychology as well as doctorates in applied behavior systems.
While neural networks produce the capacity for robots to learn, genetic algorithms produce the ability for
those robots to learn and change, Hutchison said. Traditionally, computers and robots are limited to pre-
determined programming. That makes 7GT's technology radical, Hutchison said, because it means their
robots can go beyond programming.
7GT's technology can process voice, vision and touch as well as respond to stimuli. The company has also
developed other necessary components for the robot, such as audio, video and speech capabilities, to create
a robot that is easy for people to use.
To generate revenue early, and make its technology useful, 7GT has started SpeechTeach, a software
program that can help children struggling with speech and language concepts.
With the help of a skilled speech therapist or parent, a child speaks the name of objects shown on a
computer screen. SpeechTeach can process the child's answers and evaluate them.Ranum High School and
other area schools are testing SpeechTeach. 7GT is also looking for 10 families to sample the software and
will pay users $35 per month.
By testing SpeechTeach, 7GT will also learn how to accomplish the similar task of teaching robots
language and speech, Hutchison said.
John Steele, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines who has taught robotics and neural networks
classes, said the industry's interest in neural networks exploded in the 1990s. Many companies are
experimenting with neural networks, he said, although the addition of genetic algorithms is new.
"Where we're at now is that we're combining these different techniques in order to increase their
functionality," Steele said. "With this company, they're realizing they need more than just a straight neural
network or a straight genetic algorithm to do these problems. They have different attributes that can be
more powerful in combination."
Steele said he expects robotics to affect the 21st century the way silicon affected the 20th century. 7GT,
like other robot creators, has an uphill climb taking the concept into the real world, Steele said. But
Hutchison said the technology holds promise.
"There's virtually no limit to this," he said.
Robotics will likely make headlines in Boulder in coming months. Besides 7GT's robot launch, Acroname
will host a robotics conference in March. Guest speakers include a National Aeronautics and Space
Administration official covering the department's development of robotic astronauts and a University of
Colorado professor involved with sending a robotic craft to the planet Pluto.
Both Hutchison and Stephens said people might fear robots that can interact verbally with humans using
sight, sound and touch. Hutchison said he thinks the technology is in no more danger of being abused than
any other technology already created.
They concede some might hesitate at the thought of robotic intelligence developing, especially with robot
stereotypes like H.A.L., the robotic computer from "2001: A Space Odyssey," that goes mad.
"We'd rather people think of Rosie from 'The Jetsons' than H.A.L. when they think of what this will do,"
Stephens said.
January 13, 2001
IMHO, this baby is going to (a) get noticed, and then (b) explode..!!
John :-) |
