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August 31, 2005

But Where are the Robots?!

As readers of the previous blog-incarnation know, your humble blogger has a positive jones for all things robotic. (See here and here and here and here, for instance.)

But you may have noticed a distinct lack of robot-blogging here at the new digs. Well, that's about to change, as I present to you...

WAKAMARU!!!!

Wakamaru is the new robot from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, but he's no assembly-line welder. He's a 1-meter-tall yellow child-like robot designed to be "completely different from conventional industrial robots or pet robots, as he can provide various service functions and communicate with people spontaneously."

That's right -- Wakamaru "lives in accordance with his own daily schedules as well as those of its owners, and it can update these schedules based on contact with the owner." They further explain that Wakamaru "acts autonomously according to his own life rhythms." I'm not sure what that means, but I suspect that my Wakamaru will be a holy terror first thing in the morning until he's had at least 2 cups of coffee.

But what if I'm shy, and don't know what to say to my little yellow buddy? Fear not -- Mitsubishi has that covered: "Not only does "wakamaru" respond to actions from people like other conventional robots, but it also takes the initiative in speaking to the family based on the information he obtains from contact with the family."

And, less you think he's all high-minded autonomy and sparkling conversation, Wakamaru includes a wireless broadband router to stay connected at all times to the Internet. You know what that means...

So, I'm supposed to buy a moody, chatterbox, porn-addicted robot? Sign me up!

And for those of you who have been following the robot discussions on the old blog, one of the biggest hurdles for household robots is the "uncanny valley" phenomenon (if a robot is too different from humans, the creepy-factor is sky high, if it's too similar to humans, we're also freaked out; the uncanny valley is the comforting and comfortable middle-ground in which we can tolerate the different/same dynamics of our robots). Wired News reported that "Wakamaru was originally a name given to boys of a samurai class before they were old enough to have adult names." The size and appearance of the robot is certainly child-like. Does that make him less threatening than, say, a Terminator or a Cylon?

BBC News says that Wakamaru will go on sale in September of 2005, and will cost $14,300.

Its primary purpose, at least in Japan, is to provide care and companionship to the rapidly-aging Japanese population. In the US, could Wakamaru be anything more than a novelty for the foreseeable future?

Posted by reparent at August 31, 2005 12:07 PM

Comments

Posted by: Anonymous at August 31, 2005 2:38 PM

Posted by: Richard Parent at September 1, 2005 1:17 PM