Thursday, January 25, 2007

Japanese Automatonics


Brett Patterson weighs in with a link.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:14 PM

    Well, with all this robot talk, here is something I found...Another example of a robotic creation. On this video, the human-like speech, rather than the robotic appearance, is what compels me. At the end of several minutes, I think most audiences develop an emotional arousal or psychological attachment...This is equally compelling and worth exploring further. Why does this happen and why do audiences witnessing artistic forms, become obsessed, attached, or drawn-in by these "obscene machines"?

    Take a look at Quasi the Robot...Definitely not creepy or uncanny :)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5FTzu_maHM

    And here is the Website by the student creators...http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/ibi/

    Hope you got a kick of it! Don't you want one?
    -Megan :)

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  2. While reading the article about the incredibly human-like Japanese andriod, I couldn't help but wonder WHY people are so fascinated with making robots look human? What purpose does it serve to make a machine look like a person? When did this obsession start? What are these human-like robots being used for?

    For me, the idea of having a machine looking, moving, and talking like a human is very unsettling...maybe because I've been freaked out or confused by movies like I, Robot or AI (yes, I know I am a wimp when it comes to something remotely scary). Maybe it would be easier for me to understand the importance of human-like qualities in robots if I understood the motivations of the robots' creators. Do they want to provide a more comforting, familiar experience to us by presenting us with something we can supposedly relate better to? I really don't know.

    The only thing I could come up with, however, is that these groups of scientist-mechanics have a serious God complex and are thrilled at the chance to bring a "human" to life.

    Hopefully, though, it's something more than that.

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  3. Anonymous12:42 AM

    Hahaha, I think you know why those men are fascinated with the female robots. (The article sure doesn't mention any male robots.) What are the shades of these attachments, from the darkest to the most benevolent?

    Josue Arredondo
    English 725

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  4. Anonymous10:45 AM

    I find the similar robot made in Korea. Korea also has developed its own android capable of facial expressions on its humanoid face, the second such machine to be developed after one from Japan. The name, Ever-1, combines the first human name found in the Bible, Eve, with the "r" in robot. The android, which has the face and body of a woman in her 20s, is 160 cm tall and weighs 50 kg. Ever-1 can move its upper body and express happiness, anger, sadness and pleasure. The 15 monitors in the robotic face allow it to interpret the face of an interlocutor and look back at whoever stands near it. Ever-1 also recognizes 400 words and can hold a basic verbal exchange.
    After I saw these articles, I imagined if some people treat androids as if the machines were their wives. It is really weird, but someday it can be happened. The move anticipates the day when robots, particularly intelligent service robots, could become a part of daily life as greater technological advancements are made. Robotics is a new science with a manifold of applications that can assist humans and solve many, many problems. However, as in every field of science and technology, sensitive areas open up, and it is the specific responsibility of the scientists who work in this field to face this new array of social and ethical problems.

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