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Honda's ASIMO A Few Steps Closer To Human
Rauchenator points to an article on Yahoo! about "the new enhanced Honda Asimo which now can gracefully walk down stairs, respond to human commands and even work like a receptionist (Sit there). The Honda site even has videos showcasing the robot doing its thing. The article points out that the robot makes celebrity-size salaries when put on display, too."
I can just see it, once this robot gets to the U.S. all the riceboys will start putting Japanese stickers on it that they can't even read. Then they'll put an 8" exhaust tip and cut the legs down until they're only 2 inches tall.
Put some glowing blue lights all over it and they're ready to go.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
``We hope to have Asimo on sale once it is more user-friendly, when it will be able to fetch things you ask for,'' said Makoto Hirose, senior chief engineer at Honda R&D Co Ltd.
An Asimo to get those slippers and a beer for you, an Aibo to fetch the newspaper... I think Honda is trying to sell joe-doe life to socially incapable rich geeks.
I intend to live forever, so far so good.
Faster than my wife in the mornings, anyway..
-- a big leap from a previous 40-minute start-up.
Hm, that's more like it..
Excuse me, my wife wants a word wit... argh!
Teaching it not to leave the lid up on the toilet, not to stand up peeing (it leaves a horrible mess of water and oil), taking out the garbage, to cuddle afterwards and how to partake in a meaningfull talk about feelings.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
IBM Japan is paying over $166,000 a year for Asimo to be a receptionist? Looks like our futurist fantasies were half right — robots will do the menial jobs for us, but they'll charge through the nose for it. Maybe I can find a cheap one that'll fetch my slippers for only a couple grand a week.
This is the link to more information on the robot. http://world.honda.com/robot/
It talks about specifications... and also has a few movies clips of the robot
Among them is IBM Japan, which hired Asimo as a receptionist for an annual contract of 20 million yen ($166,200).
At $166,200 I'll wear a damned plastic suit in Japan.
I can't help be reminded of the great song by a band called STYX in the rock opera KILROY.
Does this sound familiar?
"Domo arrogato(sp?) Mr. Roboto..."
"I'm not a robot, without emotion, i'm not what you see... My heart is human, my blood is boiling, MY BRAIN IBM!"
-STYX (Mr. Roboto)
"when it will be able to fetch things you ask for"
'OI - ASIMO - GET ME A BEER! - A COLD ONE! - FRENCH! - A 1664 BRUN!'
Asimo wanders to the fridge, finds it empty, goes down to the shops with your CC and picks up a few cold beers, and a bag of nuts, and a magazine. He pays at the counter, leaning forward as though being a little unstable, and wanders back. It wanders through to the kitchen, finds all the glasses are dirty, washes up, pours you a nice cold beer and brings it through to you. It tells you that the chick in the off licence was wearing 'that blue shirt' and makes a lewd hand action. It then dumps a close up video of 'that blue top' to your machine. And presents the nuts. You never thought of the nuts, but you do actually quite fancy some nuts.
Ahhhh Heaven!
1.A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
;)
2.A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3.A robot must protect its own existence, except where such protection would conflict with the First or Second Law.
...so a robot would never bring Asimov a beer
Scurf
You just know that Honda's gonna get together with these guys.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
...can even work like a receptionist
What? You mean that it can file and paint it's nails, play windows solitaire and gossip on the phone?
HH
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