Biography:
Minoru Asada received the B.E., M.E., and Ph.D., degrees in control engineering from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, in 1977, 1979, and 1982, respectively. From 1982 to 1988, he was a Research Associate of Control Engineering, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan. In April 1989, he became an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering for Computer-Controlled Machinery, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan. In April 1995 he became a Professor of the same department. Since April 1997, he has been a Professor of the department of Adaptive Machine Systems at the same university. From August 1986 to October 1987, he was a visiting researcher at the Center for Automation Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
He has received the 1992 best paper award of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS92), and the 1996 best paper award of RSJ (Robotics Society of Japan). Also, his paper was one of the ten finalists of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society 1995 Best Conference Paper Award. He was a general chair of IEEE/RSJ 1996 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS96). Since early 1990, he has been involved in RoboCup activities and his team was the first champion team with the USC team in the middle size league of the first RoboCup held in conjunction with IJCAI-97, Nagoya, Japan. In 2001, he received a Commendation by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japanese Government as a Person of Distinguished Services to Enlightening People on Science and Technology. Since 2002, he has been the president of the International RoboCup Federation.
IEEE Fellow since 2005. He has been a research director for JST ERATO Asada Synergistic Intelligence Project since September, 2005.
Abstract:
1) RoboCup
RoboCup^TM (Originally called as Robot World Cup Initiative) is an international research and education initiative. It is an attempt to foster AI and intelligent robotics research by providing a standard problem where wide range of technologies can be integrated and examined, as well as being used for integrated project-oriented education. In this talk, I will give a brief history, fundamental structure, and league activities, especially focusing on RoboCup Junior, that aims at education using robots as education tools.
2) Future Robotics and Q&A
In this talk, I will give an talk on next generation robot industry in Japan which is now facing with the aging society that needs care by robots. First, the current and future status of the aging society is given, and then how future robotics can contribute the aging society is discussed.
3) Cognitive Developmental Robotics (CDR): What's CDR and how?
Cognitive developmental robotics (CDR) aims to provide new understanding of how human's higher cognitive functions develop by means of a synthetic approach that developmentally constructs cognitive functions. The core idea of CDR is "physical embodiment" that enables information structuring through interactions with the environment, including other agents. The idea is shaped based on the hypothesized development model of human cognitive functions from body representation to social behavior. Along with a the model, studies of CDR and related works are introduced, and discussion on the model and future issues are argued.
4) From Physical Interaction to Social Development
This talk discusses how cognitive developmental robotics (hereafter, CDR) can make a paradigm shift in science and technology. A synthetic approach is revisited as a candidate for the paradigm shift, and CDR is reviewed from this view point. A trans-disciplinary approach appears to be a necessary condition and how to represent and design "subjectivity" seems like an essential issue, and how subjectivity can emerge during the process from physical interaction to social development.