Patrick Tatopoulos, Production Designer for the movie "I, Robot", About the shape and technology of future robot
The film "I, Robot" Plays in 2035. Then, so the scenario, robots have already spread throughout the company. Fibig, the human robots for people do many tasks and help in the household. Value was placed on the fact that the robots remain the bravan slaves through special security precautions and nothing to do people. But that does not stay that way and the slaves samples the uprising (Spartacus in the machine park). Hans-Arthur Marsiske talked to Patrick Tatopoulos, who has designed the design of the robots, about the future of robotics and the demands on the design that makes a movie. A transparent Macintosh computer had given Tatopoulos the decisive contribution to his robots.
The robot Sonny. Photo: 20th Century Fox Mr. Tatopoulos, what was your starting point in the design of the robots in "I, Robot"? Have you ever had experience with robots collecting? Patrick Tatopoulos: I have a company for special effects in Los Angeles, in which we also build taxable figures, so-called "Animatronics". They have similarly removing robots. I also talked to experts to learn what today’s state of technology is. But my real starting point was to see the computer of the future in the robot, less the mechanical hardware. Then one day I stood in front of the desk of an employee, saw a transparent Macintosh computer and thought: That’s it. Compare that with the computers that existed 30 years ago. Then take the Robot Asimo of Honda, opposite one of the most developed models, and introduce themselves to a similar development. We thought that he will look more appealing, more fashionable. Above all, however, we wanted to give him the shape of a commercial product. That’s how he has to look like the people liked him. I imagine that in her work very different aspects play a role: they must take into account the expectations of the viewers who want to see something new. The story and the characters also provide certain requirements for the design. And in all this, the robots should remain credited, so must be rooted to some extent in the real technology of the present. Does this come so about? Patrick Tatopoulos: Absolutely. You can not forget the director who also has its own ideas. We definitely wanted to create something surprising. The robot in the film also has much elements that make sense for me technologically. To do this, pay the titanium skeleton and the artificial muscles. Such muscles are already commercially established today to equip prostheses for missing limbs. The hull of the robot consists of transparent glass fibers on which a layer of silicone is applied as artificial skin. Apart from the battery, whose nearer texture we might not want to describe in the story, this skin is the futuristic element. We have introduced ourselves a silicone of the future, which reacts to electrical impulses. In the skin of the robot, a very fine mesh line network is woven, which controls the facial expressions, for example.
Photo: 20th Century Fox You have addressed several aspects to which I would like to get more detailed. The artificial muscles of the robots, for example, noticed me immediately. Robotic experts are largely agree that the development of such muscles is required to build powerful humanoid robots. How did you come to it? Patrick Tatopoulos: I saw her, but not with robots, but in prostheses. But artificial limbs for people and robotics are not so far apart. Interesting is the question of whether such limbs can be connected to the nervous system. I do not believe that this will be possible in 30 years. But originally the film should play 80 years in the future. The robot we designed for Dafur has liked us so much that we kept him, even when we had to pierce the story about the present. I’m completely right to give you that the film robots must be rooted in today’s technology. We have therefore informed us about the state of the art, but also care not to be limited to us from these specifications. Finally, the film should be out of this current state. You probably have from the project "RoboCup" Sehren, which has made to build 2050 humanoid robots, which can win the Fubball World Cup against People? Patrick Tatopoulos: Yes. The scientists who join in, say almost unanimously that the power supply of the robots on the way to this goal will be the hardest hurde. Patrick Tatopoulos: Exactly. Although I am not an expert in this area, but I am currently difficult to imagine that there will be batteries in 30 years, as in "I, Robot" Robot over long time with energy can be supplied. But, as I said, we were not allowed to irritate ourselves for the movie. After the movie started, I was in Pittsburgh on a robotics conference at Carnegie Mellon University. The experts gathered there told me that the robots do not necessarily have to be human in the future. I agree with it completely. Robots are likely to be well adapted much strong to their respective specific tasks. But there will always be the fascination to create artificial life. At least a small part of the scientists will experiment with it and try to create human playful creatures. Whether there is such a robot in every household, which pays attention to the children, I can not imagine so right in 80 years. In addition to the purely technical challenge, as motivation for the construction Humanider robot is usually said that they are best adapted to the human environment. Patrick Tatopoulos: Yes, humanoid robots are used primarily in direct contact with people. But I’m not sure if it does not hurt people if they get their money on the bank of a robot paid off. At any rate, I was very smarter. The number of humanoid robots that can be seen in the movie on the strain came to me unbelievably high. In 30 years they will hardly be so widespread. Patrick Tatopoulos: I agree with them. But if we were only one or two robots in the strip scenes, the viewers were destroyed. It also plays a role that the studio wanted to put the story in a nearer future so that the audience can rather create a relationship. It should be clear that it is not about "Star Trek" goes, but about places you know. 80 years in the future you can already imagine that the strain picture of humanoid robots is represented.
Photo: 20th Century Fox You have not built a real robot for the movie, or? Patrick Tatopoulos: I built two models with moving but not remotely controllable parts. The director had already decided to animate the robots completely using computer graphics. But I told him that we still need these models to serve the computer graphics as a reference. These models were then scanned. We were forced to build robots that make sense in which the proportions vote and move the limbs in realistic manner. The models were also used in trial recordings to test the lighting differences and give the trick technicians here also clues. In addition, I built a cable controllable, mechanical hand, which is seen in the film several times, for example when Sonny is on the table skin or someone. What we could not produce is the movable silicone skin, which was created in a computer in the computer. Know the technical data of the robots, how coarse, weight, maximum speed and so on? Patrick Tatopoulos: Yes, we used this data to model the robots in the computer. The software has then implemented this data in three-dimensional representations. The approach the approach in the construction of real robot, which are also first simulated on the computer. Yes, but we have disproppered ourselves on the mechanics, the inner life of the robots did not matter. We wanted to make sure that the movements are realistic and, for example, with the help of the simulations on the computer to recognize and fix a problem with the construction of the shoulders. Believe that robots will always remain a tool under human control, or could they someday develop a defensive form of life? Patrick Tatopoulos: I faith more like the tool aspect. But in Pittsburgh I talked to Manuela Veloso, which programs the AIBO robot dogs FURBOPBALL. She described me how to create new actions through the interplay of several such robots, which no one has foreseen. Well possible that robots someday develop completely new thoughts in such a way. But for the nearer future, I think robot will remain tools. They will be significantly further developed in 30 years than today, but it will still be tools. ()