We are at Mind, the Milano Innovation District, a new district of science, knowledge and innovation, which occupies the spaces of Expo 2015 (sin only is not well connected to the center). Here we know Robee, the first cognitive humanoid robot, specialized in restorations, first and unique in the world.
He has the appearance of the classic robot: at the chest height a screen, arms and hands like a set of vines, segments and tubes, a parallelepiped under the legs that allows him to move in space.
The face is the only thing that recalls a human conformation, thanks to the “relational OLEBs” so called Fabio Puglia, founder, with Paolo Denti, and president of Oversonic Robotics. They look like eyes, in reality they only serve to give an expression, “he sees with the camera”. Robee is located in front of a group of journalists and the students of the Botticino School, founded in 1974 in Brescia by Enaip Lombardia, the Central Institute of Restoration and the Lombardy Region: the School is now part of value Italy, a training and research center promoted by the Enaip Lombardia Foundation and by human form of the human group, and has its headquarters in Mind (while the laboratories are in via Cosenz 54, in Bovisa). “The situation is analyzing – continues Puglia -. He sees that there are various people, counts them, he takes data to interact ». Above all Robee puts his hands forward: “I am not a restoration expert but I can support the man.” And on this topic, the inferiority of the robot to man, Puglia insists: “The oversonic challenge is that these machines deal with logoing activities because it is unnecessarily repetitive or risky: for example at the Santa Lucia Foundation, in Rome, we already use these specimens: it is a neuro rehabilitation clinic among the most important in the world, we train patients who have had a stroke. The robots here walk through the corridors and patients greet them: they stop, interact. And – specifies the researcher – the machines never tire, they remember everything, they do not bore to speak. And in the meantime they acquire a quantity of fundamental data on the disease that are gold for scientists ». In Italy alone there are such specimens: “Being Italian is an added value, ours is a unique challenge because we make various technologies coexist to have a robot that is helpful to man without wanting to emulate it. The diversity between man and machine must coexist for us, the Japanese try to reconstruct the man: but so the deception starts ». How much can a car get out of hand? “It depends on the settings: these robots now do not decide an operational line and do not have an interest in their own – reassures Puglia -. They are responsive according to the information that we have entered. The real theme is the goal we set to the car ».
And now the theme of the restoration: “Robee (the bee is that of bees flying to the cloud, where all information are deposited and are shared between the various stuff), do you feel about me? Tell me what you know how to do, “Puglia asks him. «I am a humanoid robot designed to assist humans in repetitive and dangerous tasks. I can manipulate objects, navigate independently and interact with people. I am not a restoration expert but I can support the man ». At this point, Professor Debora D’Elia intervenes. We are in front of a capital: «Good morning, what is a black crust? – moment of reflection (the robot takes the data from the cloud), and then the answer to: «And how do you clean? Robee explains the procedure, and specifies that in the end rinsing. “We can promote it – is the comment of Prof.-. The rinse, my students always forget it ».
We also ask the boys, would you need it? “Yes -they still make a little intimidated by the object -for example to move the most important weights even in small spaces. In short, he would have a technical and physical function ». And the fact that you speak restless? “No, it helps the immediacy a lot.” Salvatore Ambo, CEO of value Italy, concludes: «We want to raise awareness of the institutions on the fact that the relationship with robotics is also essential to optimize energy and therefore save time and money. We would like more public intervention.
Today the restorer is no longer just the solitary figure with the work he is working on: he collaborates with chemists, architects, IT. And we are the first ever to have a humanoid in a restoration laboratory ». Which costs 140 thousand euros each, plus insurance.