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Interview With David Hanson of Human Emulation Robotics

Aired August 13, 2003 - 15:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now remember Rosie the robot, that long-suffering maid on "The Jetsons"? How about the evil TX in "Terminator 3"? OK, they're just a few robots in cartoon and the movies. But in real life, there's K-Bot, modeled after the creator's own fiancee, Kristen (ph). Actually, it's just the head. But it does move, and get this -- the creator carries it with him almost everywhere.
You can read all about it in the September Issue of "Popular Science" or just sit back and listen up now while we talk to David Hanson. He's the founder of the Human Emulation Robotics. He joins us live from Los Angeles.

Hi, David.

DAVIS HANSON, HUMAN EMULATION ROBOTICS: Hi, how are you?

PHILLIPS: I'm doing all right. I'm a little freaked out by the robot here. But you know what? Why don't you give me a little background here and tell me what you were thinking when you started putting this together?

HANSON: Well, I'm thinking that many constituent components of smart intelligence exist and they need something to converge with them. A human-like face is that medium I believe.

PHILLIPS: That's pretty deep. Now, all right, taking that philosophy, OK, and now technically, where did you get this idea and how did you start building this head of a robot?

HANSON: Well, I started by going to a local bar in Dallas with a pair of calipers and looking for...

PHILLIPS: And plenty to drink?

HANSON: No, no, no. No, nothing to drink, just looking for one particular woman that I had seen before who was an acquaintance of mine whose face would match a skull that I had to make into a robot for a jet propulsion laboratory.

And so I saw Kristen, who's now my girlfriend at the bar and I came to her and I asked her if I could measure her skull and she consented. So I sculpted her in clay and cast her into the robot that you see on the cover of "Popular Science." PHILLIPS: All right. So, I was reading here -- you've received calls from scientists who want to collaborate for companies that make prosthetics and surgical training devices, from movie producers, from companies that make sex dolls. Are you going to join on with any of these folks and what do you think about all this attention you've received?

HANSON: Well, I definitely will participate with scientists. The seedier applications, I think, should -- yes, can be laid off to the side for a while. And I'm not going to have any part of that.

But I believe that these robots can serve as a very useful tool for investigating the way that people communicate with one another. It's a science that is in its infancy and having a robot that can express itself with facial expressions can be a useful tool in that endeavor.

PHILLIPS: So David, real quickly, is this something you want to see as someone that can end up running errands for you, be a friend, take a walk in the park? I mean, what's the ultimate goal here?

HANSON: Absolutely. A friend, a peer, building the hardware to facilitate true artificial intelligence. This is my goal.

I believe that within our lifetimes we're going to see some very, very smart machines and we want to give them a sociable face so they cooperate. They love us, we love them. That's my goal.

PHILLIPS: David Hanson, pretty interesting stuff. Pick up "Popular Science" and read more about David. Thanks for your time.

HANSON: Oh, thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 13, 2003 - 15:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now remember Rosie the robot, that long-suffering maid on "The Jetsons"? How about the evil TX in "Terminator 3"? OK, they're just a few robots in cartoon and the movies. But in real life, there's K-Bot, modeled after the creator's own fiancee, Kristen (ph). Actually, it's just the head. But it does move, and get this -- the creator carries it with him almost everywhere.
You can read all about it in the September Issue of "Popular Science" or just sit back and listen up now while we talk to David Hanson. He's the founder of the Human Emulation Robotics. He joins us live from Los Angeles.

Hi, David.

DAVIS HANSON, HUMAN EMULATION ROBOTICS: Hi, how are you?

PHILLIPS: I'm doing all right. I'm a little freaked out by the robot here. But you know what? Why don't you give me a little background here and tell me what you were thinking when you started putting this together?

HANSON: Well, I'm thinking that many constituent components of smart intelligence exist and they need something to converge with them. A human-like face is that medium I believe.

PHILLIPS: That's pretty deep. Now, all right, taking that philosophy, OK, and now technically, where did you get this idea and how did you start building this head of a robot?

HANSON: Well, I started by going to a local bar in Dallas with a pair of calipers and looking for...

PHILLIPS: And plenty to drink?

HANSON: No, no, no. No, nothing to drink, just looking for one particular woman that I had seen before who was an acquaintance of mine whose face would match a skull that I had to make into a robot for a jet propulsion laboratory.

And so I saw Kristen, who's now my girlfriend at the bar and I came to her and I asked her if I could measure her skull and she consented. So I sculpted her in clay and cast her into the robot that you see on the cover of "Popular Science." PHILLIPS: All right. So, I was reading here -- you've received calls from scientists who want to collaborate for companies that make prosthetics and surgical training devices, from movie producers, from companies that make sex dolls. Are you going to join on with any of these folks and what do you think about all this attention you've received?

HANSON: Well, I definitely will participate with scientists. The seedier applications, I think, should -- yes, can be laid off to the side for a while. And I'm not going to have any part of that.

But I believe that these robots can serve as a very useful tool for investigating the way that people communicate with one another. It's a science that is in its infancy and having a robot that can express itself with facial expressions can be a useful tool in that endeavor.

PHILLIPS: So David, real quickly, is this something you want to see as someone that can end up running errands for you, be a friend, take a walk in the park? I mean, what's the ultimate goal here?

HANSON: Absolutely. A friend, a peer, building the hardware to facilitate true artificial intelligence. This is my goal.

I believe that within our lifetimes we're going to see some very, very smart machines and we want to give them a sociable face so they cooperate. They love us, we love them. That's my goal.

PHILLIPS: David Hanson, pretty interesting stuff. Pick up "Popular Science" and read more about David. Thanks for your time.

HANSON: Oh, thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com