Where the hell does the line begin and who do I call to buy one? That is amazing!! What else can it do??
Humanoid robot HRP-2 pours green tea into a cup during a demonstration at Tokyo University February 28, 2007.
The psycho geniuses at Tokyo University’s researchers showcased on Wednesday humanoid robots which can perform household chores such as serving tea and washing dishes. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN)
Just what every household needs, its own Boba Fett.
Three things:
(a) What’s with the “psycho geniuses”–this seems to suggest “mad scientists” of some sort? What’s wrong with engineers making an intelligent machine that washes dishes?
(b) I think those things (and I’m not an engineer) on it’s head strangely remind us of those traditional horns on the samurai’s helmet? And were you not the one that only recently made us watch the History Channel documentary about a million obscure dates involving samurai? And they only mentioned Miyamoto Musashi in passing right at the end???
(c) Why is this Japan technology journalist Korean and should we be concerned?
Woah… I have a cup that looks just like that one! Now all I need is a robot and a bottle of green tea, and the good life will be mine at last.
OH hell yeah this thing is uber-cool! Just tell me where to line up!
In regards to your question Paul, the engineers at Tokyo University are by most standards to be the best of the best. So needless to say that most of them are crazy and geniuses at the same time… You’d have to be crazy to want to build a robot that pours drinks. And you have to be a genius to figure out how to do it.
Humanoid robot HRP-2 pours tea for your guests, but is also a handy home-protection unit. Sporting a railgun that can fire projectiles at 3.5km/second, it is just the thing in case you receive an unwelcome visitor.
WARNING
Humanoid robot HRP-2’s railgun is not suitable for use in-doors.
All you households are belong to us
I own a little robot called ‘O Shakurai-kun’ that pours beer and talks. I got it at a flea market in northern Japan for 500 yen. best purchase ever. He also holds snacks for you.
berocca - photos! We need photos of ‘O Sahkurai-kun’!
A wonderous machine, I’m sure.
Please tell us if you’ve dressed him in a butler’s uniform
no butlers uniform, I’m afraid. He kinda sounds like a girl when he talks… oh but wait, I forgot to mention that he’s voice activated too. that way he knows when to stop pouring. The box he came in is priceless too.
I will get photos up as soon as I can. Video would be best, though, to demonstrate his skill in the art of beer pouring.
“What’s wrong with engineers making an intelligent machine that washes dishes?”–Paul Nicholls
You mean a… dish washer?
dishwashers?..washing machines? surely this is a korean issue.
The whitegoods kings of the planet.
Just don’t mention anything to do with cars.. (even lower than a Trabant).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant
Robots are very cool unless you look closely, then they become verrrry boring. An “intelligent” machine is one one that doesn’t walk into the same wall twice (unless you move it, or pick up the robot and turn it around). That’s something that any insect can do easily, but for a robot it takes massive amounts of software programming.
I’d love to see an R2D2, but it ain’t gonna happen this way. All the tea-pouring, dishwashing, jumping through hoops robots are trotted out for PR purposes because, say, IC assembly robots that look like transistors just don’t capture the public’s interest. This robot, if it has an industrial application, will certainly be used minus the fancy headgear and gloves. 100 of them in a softdrink factory wouldn’t catch the eye of most people.
Now, androids are another story….
March 03, 2007
The Japanese are a very intelligent and hard working people, proud of their heritage, cultural values and above all, very honour bound.
The Japanese over the years have managed to create intelligent Robots capable of doing things and performing chores. I’d not be surprised if they have already created Robots designed to perform civil serice duties and military service duties. An army of 10 million or more robotic soldiers with exceptionally advanced system of operational abilities may already be in existence awaiting for the ‘D”DAY’ signal to invade the mainland USA. Such an invasion will be unlike other invasions, everything will go as smooth as possible with no one suspecting that an invasion was in progrss. The Japanese Controllers of the Robotic invaders will simply feed-in Commands for the military & civilians robots to implement their planned programs.
Their initial task will be to replace the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, with a Nancy look-alike robot, followed by others, a few select senators and congressmen/women. The Pentagon officials who matter will also be replaced by their robot look-alikes - even their wives / husbands will not suspect any change in their spouses or companions - that’s how perfectly designed these secretly developed Japanese robots may be. The robots will continue the process of take over of all the US cities and towns, replacing initially the humans officials with robot look-alikes. This should not be all that difficult as the American people are known to be very gullable and believe anything and usually fall for all kind of propoganda. Don’t forget the Orson Welles who so realistic narrataed the H.G. Wells “War of The Worlds” on radio. The people in San Francisco started running out of their homes, believing every word.
Why would Japan want to invade the USA. Perhaps it is REVENGE !!!
The Japanese will never ever forget the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. They may openly talk about peaceful co-existence, but deep down the Japanese thirst for Revenge does indeed exists. Why did the US drop atomic bombs when more than 80% of the Japanese cities and towns had already been destroyed by incendiary bombs and other weapons. Japan no longer was a threat and yet they dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. WHY ? WHY ? WHY ???
No, you’re coming from the wrong angle. What they did was take some humans, and turned them into robots. The disadvantage with this approach, of course, is that they have to pay them a salary.
The rest of your post, however, makes total sense.
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