Cooler than Johnny 5
As I read more and more about androids, robots and whatnot walking the walk in Japan, I keep expecting one of them to pipe up with “Bite the shiny metal...” or something similarly Bender-like. That, by the way, was a reference to the science fiction animated show called Futurama which depicted a strange little future where humans and robots co-exist. Might I add that in that show robots seemed to have equal status (read: life, liberty and all other such civil right goodies) as humans.
Well, with the number of stories I read about recent Japanese robot technology, I could be excused for the Futurama comparison. The latest reminiscing was triggered by a catwalk robot. The female humanoid robot is called HRP-4C and she recently strutted her stuff at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. By the way, despite the sterile name, she boasts a startling likeness to human, at least in the facial features department. As a matter of fact, she resembles a typical cute character from Japanese cartoons and this, it seems, was a deliberate move on the side of the developers.
Excerpt:
"If we had made the robot too similar to a real human, it would have been uncanny," said one of the inventors, humanoid research leader Shuji Kajita. "We have deliberately leant toward an anime style.”
What's amazing about this robot is her ability to mimic human mannerisms like facial expressions and body postures, both of which are normally associated with human emotions.
According to this article in the Telegraph, her sphere of work will be focused on the entertainment industry. Futurama pops up in my mind once again as I read on about this robot paving way for humanoids and humans working hand in glove. I should point out that references to the Matt Groening show is not meant to be negative in any sense; think of it as an amazed pondering that fiction might turn into reality. And while we are on the topic, HRP-4C will be wowing crowds at a Tokyo fashion show later this month.
Since I have brought up the topic of human-robot interaction and how it is gaining prominence in Japan, let me cite a few more stories. There are, of course, the adorable robots by Matsui which is catching everyone's eye. Then there is DER3, an actroid which is being hired out for mega entertainment events. Finally, I came across this story of robots and humans taking part in a play. With the play title translating into “I, Worker”, it's no surprise that theme of the play revolves around the meaning of life, at least from a robot's point of view.
