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Mitsubishi Robot - Watchdog, Nurse, Annoying Friend
jomaree writes "The SMH Online reports that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have developed a robot (to run on Linux) with voice and face recognition capabilities. The robot would be able to connect to the Internet, contact you by e-mail or a mobile phone and, say, send you a message if it 'hears' a strange noise inside your home. It can also remember the side effects of medication. Reportedly, Mitsubishi claim that the robot 'will become a future house-sitter, caretaker, nurse and friend for the family'. Unfortunately the robot can also be programmed to ask 'You're home late. What have you been up to?' Don't we already have people for that?" The Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun has a story with pictures.
I can see it now:
From: mitsubot@example.com
To: brian-at-work@example.com
Dear Brian,
The cat just knocked over a flower pot which made a loud sound. I'm scared. Please come home soon. By the way, remember to be on the lookout for fecal urgency, loose stools, and increased heart rate now that you're taking Propecia.
Love,
Your Robot
Giving robots the ability to have face as well as voice recognition, inevitably I can see some sort of security system being done with robots such as these (only recognized people get through, others get... dealt with), and then if the robot can be put on the internet than the robot could be hacked. Forget identity theft, how would you like it if you came home one day and your robot wouldn't let you in the door because you "no longer lived there" (in other words, it doesn't recognize you), or worse yet lets someone else in because it is now programmed to accept that person as someone who lives at the house.
To make a long story short, IMHO, I don't believe robot "house-sitters" are a good thing. I for one would never give up control of the security or well-being of my house to a walking, talking computer program.
I just don't see the pros outweighing the cons here.
SecondPageMedia - Wha
The robot would be able to connect to the Internet, contact you by e-mail or a mobile phone and, say, send you a message if it 'hears' a strange noise inside your home. It can also remember the side effects of medication.
(imagine a message on my answering machine)
DUDE! I'm smoking a doob and checking the porn sites over here. Come on over and... what the fuck is that noise? Ah fuck. This pot is making my mouth dry so pick up some Dew on the way over. LAter dude.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Hmm, you think they might want to improve that a little before releasing it to the public.
Of course, it depends on how long the recharge takes -- the robot wouldn't be much of a helper for the elderly if recharging takes another 2 hours, meaning the robot spends 50% of its time tied to the wall, but it wouldn't be so bad if it can recharge itself rapidly or perhaps even swap batteries somehow. Does anyone here know the average running time lengths for the current crop of personal robots?
Wakamaru also can ask questions such as, "You are home late, aren't you?" or "Are you O.K.?" when the master remains silent.
If I want someone to ask me over and over if I'm OK because I'm not saying anything, I'd get married.
As far as robot technology has come, you'd think that robots would be able to handle awkward silences.
It will probably be some closed source technology that obviously is not working right from the first attempt. Strange noises can be heard from the TV, the Radio, the guys next door, or even the dog.
A similar but imo more sensible approach would be a simple computer box and a audio card with dynamic microphones that would be based on some nice open software which can be upgraded and be compatible with our needs.
Computers could do these things from the 80s. All we need is the software to do it.
...I cannot perform any services today, as I am getting together with a few robot friends of mine to form a beowolf cluster...
it probably started as a project to make a new kind of dildo and then it spiraled out of control. which means it can probably still export a tele-dildonic api and may even support the latest in cock-shaped audio wave technology.
If not, have a look at this. Rather amusing the first time you see it.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
"It can also be programmed to send e-mail if it hears a big noise or sees anything unusual in the home, Mitsubishi said."
I wonder if, while you are away on a business trip, you could program the thing to hide under your bed and report any noise it hears!
The headline says it all: Robot for the elderly to become real-life Astro Boy
No flamethrower or electroshocker included.
The security, which should be gained by this, is not one against burglers.
It is against dying from mismedication, strokes, and the like. It checks the person in question regularly for life-signs, reminds him/her of the medication and notifies an ambulance if necessary. And additionally gives the feeling of company.
The aversion seems to be a cultural thing: In Japan, inanimate objects are more likely considered to have a soul. The first image of a robot is Astro Boy.
In the Western World, the first image is Maria (Metropolis) (or maybe the Golem).
"Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"
It can nag without tiring and yet it doesn't have a mouth? Talk about the worst of both worlds.
If I see this right, it will be kinda like a computer with a lot of mobile interface built-in, so it could be programmed with things its creator never dreamed of, much as Linux is probably being programmed with things Linus never thought of.
I can think already of a whole plethora of things I could program this beastie for.. like when I am under the car and I want it to look up a database and show me where some wire connects to. Or "staying awake", watching my surroundings, when I snooze off. Basically, I kinda see this as a self-propelled laptop which I never switch off... something coming with a lot of rudimentary intelligence for recognizing its environment, yet leaving itself open for any training I may want to give it. ( A closed-source box is absolutely useless in this regard - getting one of those would be about as useful as getting a tool that only does a specific thing - said specific thing most likely being something I have no need of.)
I've seen the little robotic dog... cute! Nice toy. I've seen where people were able to program it to do all sorts of cute little tricks. Now, if they play their cards right and make this one completely open source, I think they will make one of those things that everyone will want. Even if you do not have the skills to program it yourself, there will be many people who do, and programs will circulate among the net. I think if they are smart, they will provide the hardware and enough software to demonstrate what can be done, then stand back and wait for the flood of orders to the factory.. as I think they may have trouble building them fast enough.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
"Shut up"
I'll take one
Robot:
"What's that noise from my owner's room? Oh, it's midnight, it must be master's pr0n time"
Auto-Robot IM message to the owner:
Robot(11:00PM): STOP watching pr0n you PERV!
Robot(11:00PM): STOP watching pr0n you PERV!
Robot(11:01PM): STOP watching pr0n you PERV!
Owner: (coming out to shut off the robot) "Ok ok, fine, robot. Let me just turn off this switch..."
Robot: "Sorry for the error master! Sound pattern previously recoreded now determined as normal voice pattern of master. Recorded as non-anomalous behaviour. It will not happen again. Thank you for your cooperation. Have a good night master."
Owner: "Hmm, ok. Good night robot."
Robot: (quietly) "pervert."
Owner: "huh?"
0- Eamonman Proud member of DNRC
Wakamaru also can ask questions such as, "You are home late, aren't you?" or "Are you O.K.?" when the master remains silent.
So when I sit at home talking to myself for hours on end, the robot will think that's just fine?
Finally, someone who understands me!
DennyK
Be warned, people
pity that its running Linux, if it ran Doze then you could get all those .net alerts! Wooo I bet the dog wouldnt shut up.
*Bark* Free Diploma *Bark* Penis Enlargement Pills! *Bark* Free Toy Car *Kicks*
Unfortunately the robot can also be programmed to ask 'You're home late. What have you been up to?'
Is it worried you might be seeing another robot on the side?
...Is the mental image of a robot's "butt" something we'll never stop laughing about? I mean... Think about it. A robot *butt*. You know they're gonna have to have one... So who designs the butt? You know...like, what do they take into consideration when designing a mechanical butt? Every robot has a butt..Think about it. Even the one on Lost In Space had a butt. Why? What the hell are they gonna do with a butt? Is it just there for humor, or is there some purpose for giving a robot a butt? You gotta ask yourself these questions, man... What happens when your robot has a problem with his butt? Will you be comfortable in trying to fix it yourself? It may be a robot, but it's still got a butt. I mean, i'm gonna marry my fiance' in April....I'll spend the rest of my life with her, and devote the rest of my friggin life to her... But theres no way i'm gonna open up her butt and go in there with a pair of pliers and a soldering iron. No way. But thats what you'de have to do to a robot butt to fix it. You gotta ask yourselves these things. All I know is, robots are gonna have butts, and thats gonna be awesome.
Freakin' AWESOME!
Bowie J. Poag
I bought one of these second-hand on eBay. When it arrived, I tried to clean it. Then, it started to project low-resolution video about a girl with a weird hairdo and some "OB-1 Canopy". Some kind of spam, I guess. I had to erase the internal memory, but now that unit is happily cultivating my hydroponics.