Slashdot Mirror


Japanese Researchers Develop Sensor Skin

ScentCone writes "A University of Tokyo team has developed a flexible, laminated network of pressure and temperature sensors suitable for jobs such as robot fingers. Circuits as pressure sensors, and semiconductors as temperature sensors are not new, but the thin, networked laminate of the two is novel."

106 comments

  1. As always... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    the porn industry will be the first to widely use this new technology.

    1. Re:As always... by kilodelta · · Score: 0

      First they have to develope a low yield nuclear reactor that will keep the body temp at roughly 96-98 degrees.

      Unless you like em' cold like that.

    2. Re:As always... by The+Spoonman · · Score: 0

      According the RealDoll FAQ, (t work, can't get you a link to the FAQ iteself) they suggest placing your inanimate lover in a tub of hot water for a while to warm her up before use.

      --
      Which is more painful? Going to work or gouging your eye out with a spoon? Find out!
      http://www.workorspoon.com
    3. Re:As always... by British · · Score: 1

      the porn industry will be the first to widely use this new technology.

      And look what technologies it has helped push into the mainstream: DVD, video cassettes, etc.

    4. Re:As always... by nizo · · Score: 1

      Yes indeed, the sexbot that won't punch holes through you or set you on fire from too much friction is now one step closer. Thank you oh lords of technology!

    5. Re:As always... by kilodelta · · Score: 1

      Not only that but a sex partner you can turn on an off at will. Think of how popular THAT would be.

      No more "lets talk" or "lets cuddle". Simply push that red button and drift off into a peaceful sleep.

    6. Re:As always... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why they are rich!
      Freshmeat you know. Just like some of the places around here. Sure is tempting to pretty young girls and old poor ladies. What can I say, you have to survive, so just how far are you willing to go. I would log in if I had an account. Had trouble with logging in.

    7. Re:As always... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact that this is in Japan makes this only more likely.

      Just think: Otaku can now have their own private pop idol to rape.

    8. Re:As always... by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      It's not rape if she's begging for it. And a real otaku would program her to beg for it.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    9. Re:As always... by Murasaki+Skies · · Score: 1

      I'd program her to cry.

      --
      Waiiii!!!!!! I have bad karma!
  2. GitS by qeveren · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    And here I was just reading the Ghost in the Shell manga... keen. :)

    Say, what the hell is with this stupid "You're replying too soon" Slashdot crap?

    --
    Don't just stand there, get that other dog!
    1. Re:GitS by Barny · · Score: 1

      Good series, love the anime too, SAC and SAC 2nd gig is awsome :)

      If Laughing Man Fansubs is reading, thanks ^_^

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
    2. Re:GitS by Danger+Stevens · · Score: 1

      I really appreciate the GitS anime because it was the first one I ever saw that married a sophisticated plot, philosophical questions, and extremely good looking visuals.

      I heard that the Wachowski brothers were heavily influenced by Ghost in the Shell as they were developing their idea for the Matrix. Seems to fit.

      --
      World Changing - News for Humans, Stuff about our planet
    3. Re:GitS by Barny · · Score: 1

      And don't forget tachikoma (sp?) they are hillarius :)

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
    4. Re:GitS by vertinox · · Score: 1

      Best damn series of all time... I ended up buying the first seven dvds. Didn't know they had another one.

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    5. Re:GitS by qeveren · · Score: 1

      The tachikoma are my heroes. :D

      Ouch, wow, I got modded off-topic. I guess whoever modded me down doesn't read the GitS manga. It goes into a detailed description of how cyborg skin detects pressure and temperature. :)

      --
      Don't just stand there, get that other dog!
    6. Re:GitS by Hinokagutsuchi · · Score: 1

      The fact of the matter is, GITS, while it is a cartoon, it logicially provides the philosophical questions that I think we'll be facing in the next ten to fifteen years.

      The main question that's raised is "How do you define a person?" or in a different way "At what point is there no line between man and machine?"

      The line between man and machine, in the series, has been blurred so much so that we can no longer use traditional methods to define humanity. As such, we have to think of ways to distinguish humans from machines. This fact begs the question, "Or do we?" Do we attempt to redraw the line or do we let it blur into nonexistence?

      I'm ranting, but I still believe it brings up relevant questions. As the tech gets more advanced, we'll be capable of doing more to improve our own living conditions(ex: working, sensitive limbs to parapalegics), and much like the series the line will begin to blur.

  3. Great! by Darkon · · Score: 2, Funny


    Maybe now they can build better hands for their female android.

  4. Prosthetics by irokie · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder could this be adapted and built into prosthetics somehow? And if you combine it with some sort of ultra-thin LCD...

    I, for one, welcome our new robo-skinned, chameleon overlords...

    --
    and if you see me strut, remind me of what left this outlaw torn...
    1. Re:Prosthetics by bbcisdabomb · · Score: 1

      Well, I want the LCD skin and a full Alienware system in my arm. Half-life 2 on the go, FTW!

      --
      Please put some pants on before you post again.
    2. Re:Prosthetics by gaber1187 · · Score: 1

      that my friend is the subject of my research :-) so yes, people are already doing that...

  5. Actually... by Moraelin · · Score: 1

    I'm thinking there are other areas of a female android that could use this technology too.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
  6. Finally... by Chatsubo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Robots so far haven't been the best looking things, as their inventors rarely see a need to cover them up with "skin" or something that looks vaguely aesthetic.

    So maybe this will make new robots resemble something a bit more organic, by, say, colouring this stuff to look like human skin. I think this would go a long way in making them more appealing to the public.

    --
    > no, yes, maybe (tagging beta)
    1. Re:Finally... by JanneM · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Robots so far haven't been the best looking things, as their inventors rarely see a need to cover them up with "skin" or something that looks vaguely aesthetic.

      Look up "uncanny valley" before you wish too much. Nonorganic, toy-looking is probably a lot better.

      --
      Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
    2. Re:Finally... by manavendra · · Score: 3, Informative

      Its not just about making them more "appealing" to the public.

      This new "fabric" laminates the pressure and temperature sensing network together, so that both properties can be detected simultaneously, using carbon based circuits and semi-conductors, which is inexpensive to reproduce

      This would allow the scientists to measure more easily (if not more accurately), the effects a certain task would have were it performed by a human, the side effects certain working conditions may have (kind of prevention before cure), and in future they could add more sensors on these layers to measure other aspects (for example, radioactivity)..

      --
      http://efil.blogspot.com/
    3. Re:Finally... by Chatsubo · · Score: 1

      I did RTFA, thanks. But on the second paragraph, yes, interesting.

      --
      > no, yes, maybe (tagging beta)
    4. Re:Finally... by hitmark · · Score: 1

      like say this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley

      hmm, im not sure i agree with the articles arguments that the uncanny valley effect was the reason the final fantasy movie bombed.

      most people i know that have seen it loved it, with no talk about feeling uneasy about the lifelikeness of the characters.

      i think its more that it didnt realy play out the final fantasy name. basicly it didnt follow up on any of the FF games story, the most likely one being FF7 from playstation 1: the one most people had their first encounter with the FF series with. allso the FF that was longest in production as it was originaly aimed at the cd-rom addon to the snes that never came. and its the second FF that have a character die in the middle of the story (that i know of). only that this time the character isnt replaced by another character thats basicly the old one with new graphics. this creates a emotional bond thru the feeling of loss as you no longer have the character available to play.

      still, there is a short movie in the works that expand on the FF7 history now i think: FF7, midnight children.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    5. Re:Finally... by DanteLysin · · Score: 0

      The Cylons were created by man ...

    6. Re:Finally... by Drooling+Iguana · · Score: 1

      No, they were created by a race of sapient reptiles.

      --
      ... I'm addicted to placebos
    7. Re:Finally... by subgrappler · · Score: 1

      making a robot look more human still doesnt make it look completely human. especially since itll probaly only look human enough to be creepy. kinda like the computer rendered movies like Final Fantasy... sure it looks real-ish... but the characters are still somewhat lifeless.

    8. Re:Finally... by CyanDisaster · · Score: 1

      ...still, there is a short movie in the works that expand on the FF7 history now i think: FF7, midnight children...

      Advent Children, I believe.

      Hope be with ye,
      Cyan

    9. Re:Finally... by ultranova · · Score: 1

      hmm, im not sure i agree with the articles arguments that the uncanny valley effect was the reason the final fantasy movie bombed.

      No, the reason that FF movie bombed was that the plot was awful, completely unlike the games and not the least bit credible.

      Every FF I've played (6,7,8 & 9) have had the basic structure of adventuring, meeting weird people and seeing weird places while trying to foil the plans of a murdering madman bent on conquering/destroying the world (possibly as a side effect of his real goal - like Sephiroth trying to gain godhood).

      FFM was a movie about surviving in a destroyed world. No madmen (none that stuck in my head, at least), no memorable main characters, no memorable places. And the basic premise was something I'd expected from Scientology, not adventure movie or Final Fantasy.

      Don't get me wrong, it was fun to watch, and the graphical quality was unbelievable, but it was not Final Fantasy.

      most people i know that have seen it loved it, with no talk about feeling uneasy about the lifelikeness of the characters.

      There is certainly something wrong with the characters, like they had just a bit too little mass for their size. But it only sticks out in a few scenes.

      Speaking of FF: I wonder, now that they have fully 3D environments, when will we get dynamic environments ? I mean, in a typical FF battle, at least towards the end of the game, you dish out as much area damage as a small atom bomb, so shouldn't it show in the surroundings after the battle ?-)

      Or I could just replay Freedom Force - Mr. Mechanical's architechtural renewal project certainly deals out damage to the surroundings :).

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    10. Re:Finally... by hitmark · · Score: 1

      hmm, freedom force. incredibly nice game. even more so when you get the update installed that give you access to the danger room system.

      nothing like creating the most maxed out explosive power you can come up with and then trow it around ;)

      or maybe picking up a car or similar and tossing it at your enemy.

      but the best is when you trash a building just to get hold of the wimp with jump or climbing that have taken refuge there.

      hulk smash!

      hmm, to bad realy that they didnt add a swing power. but i guess then that marvel would land on them faster then galactus on a planet full of life xP

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    11. Re:Finally... by hitmark · · Score: 1

      oops, my bad xP

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    12. Re:Finally... by DeadChobi · · Score: 1

      The one thing I noticed that bugged me about the graphics in the FF movie was the booze. It didnt look at all like alcohol. I've noticed that very few people can come up with convincing-looking water, either trying to make it too opaque, or making it too viscous and not fluid enough.

      --
      SRSLY.
  7. Key invent by MrJones · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Since robot muscles are solved, this seems to be the key feature for future robots.
    I always wonder how will the robots detects presure at skin level ... Eureka!

    --
    Get my e-mail after a captcha test in: http://tinymailt
    1. Re:Key invent by Jaruzel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ah, but would you restrict the sensors to just fingers/hands/feet, or go for the whole 'body' ?

      To be useful, covering the whole body would require millions of sensors, and somewhat impractical to implement and process.

      I agree with earlier poster, the best use for this, is in prosthetics. We already have artificial limbs that can be 'moved' via crude nerve interfaces, add this on and the limb becomes a lot more useful. Much more usful than a Honda-bot that can pick up an egg without breaking it.

      -Jar.

      --
      Together, We Can Make Slashdot Better. I Do NOT Mod ACs. - Check Me Out
    2. Re:Key invent by RealNecator · · Score: 3, Informative
      Since robot muscles are solved, this seems to be the key feature for future robots.

      Robotic musceles are solved? Thats new to me.

      They are far, far away from being "solved". Atrificial muscels (made of fibers) are energy inefficient and bulky. DC-Motors are bulky and heavy, yet better in efficiancy still not good enough.

      Take forexample a human Hand: What do you think, how many muscles (=motors) do we have? And thats only the motors ... strings, wires, powersupply adds.

      And for the article: Its nice that they manufacture such a skin ... but how many degrees of freedom is it able to measure? 1 is definitly to few. How are the signals read? The have to be amplified a lot, so how many wires are needed? Wehere is the amplification done? Just imagine ous small finger -- is there inside enoug room for the bearing structure plus amplification-electronics plus wires?

      NOT the skin itself is the problem, but to integrate it successfully in a human-sized, human-capable robotic hand.

    3. Re:Key invent by Mycroft_VIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually I think there might be a way to handle so many sensors.
          for every few hundred or so have a very simple processor that just looks for sensors that need attention (nearing temp/pressure boundries, changing enough to warrent attention, ect.) then when something happens it sends a simple message upstream to a more important processor (HEY sensor #252 is getting hot fast!) that processor then converts the info from it's subs into more general info for the main system and passes it on (LEFT HAND MELTING!). Of course the higher processors should be able to set alert criterion for lower processors and even query for specifics, but outside of the main system focusing it's attention it mostly just processes simple all o.k. messages from a small handfull of surface sensor agregators.
          I know I'm rarely aware of more than a general sense of to what degree I'm comfortable unless I specifically focus such as when testing the water temp in the shower or when accidently stub a toe.

      Mycroft

      --
      https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
    4. Re:Key invent by Mycroft_VIII · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Mostly I agree, however I would like to point out that not all the components for a funtional finger need to be in the finger itself. Make tight fist while watching the fore-arm on the same arm.
          Same could go for some of the electronics related to sensor amplification and such.
          Though I do agree we are still a good ways from human equalivance in artificial muscles and skin sensors.

      Mcyroft

      --
      https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
    5. Re:Key invent by advocate_one · · Score: 1
      To be useful, covering the whole body would require millions of sensors, and somewhat impractical to implement and process.

      bollocks... ever hear of neural nets??? what the heck do you think we use in our own bodies then??? I would envisage each net handling a square centimetre or so of pseudo skin and overlapping with other nearby nets before passing the results on to higher nets that handle whole limbs, etc...

      --
      Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
    6. Re:Key invent by Digital+Pizza · · Score: 1

      Replace "processor" with "neuron" and I think you've pretty much described the nervous system (the sensory side of it at least). Sounds like you're on the right track.

      --
      We apologize for the inconvenience.
    7. Re:Key invent by Mycroft_VIII · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Heh, yeah I've thought about this a bit. Two of my fantasy mad scientis inventions are an android and Power armor, which share some of these problems. The other is a time machine.
          It's a bit related to subsumption architechture in robotics, thought I didn't originaly think of it that way and intend to study more on that subject. It's just obvious to me that semi-independant semi-hiarchical controll/processing is the way to do it rather than try and do it all as one big cpu and software. Especially when you consider all the work the feet do keep you ballanced and moving smoothly while walking through 5 toes and the ankle pivot. Or all the work hand do in so many tasks.
          Teach the tiny components the details and the biger components then know just enough to order the next size down around and take feedback.
          To many layers could creat propogation delays and errors of imprecision, but then wires are faster than neurons and all sorts of minor errors that have to be constantly corrected 'in flight' occure in humans.
          If there is enough task specific learning capability and such at a low enough level the system could cope. Add in simple neural networks at say l2 or l3 and use GA's to find good fit baselines for them and the higher level heuristics have less to deal with specifics wise most of the time.
          Of course all these processors and various actuators will generate some heat (as might the power source), but if your emulating a human, a fluid cooled system (colored appropriately) could double as a mimic for a blood system and help provide 'body heat'. You could also pass cool air past some of these 'blood vessels' via a breathing mimicing system.
          Of course a mimic for the muscular system is a bit tricky. There are some pnumatic(sp?) muscle systems that somewhat behave like human muscles (rubber tubes in a mesh so that expaning the tubes shorten them) but I'm uncertain how thier strength and deformation properties compare to human muscles. Some other candidates are clearly not powerfull enough to do the job and if the same holds true for the phumatic muscles then more traditional motors and actuators may have to do some to most of the work with the other system being largely cosmetic in purpose. And of course the response time is important.
          And the problems with robotic vision are infamous, though progress is being made.
          It's all fun mental excersize though.

      Mycroft

      --
      https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
    8. Re:Key invent by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

      I think the problem here is that we have the wrong people looking at the job. We have robotics engineers working on simulating natural muscles, and all sorts of technologists working in widely diverse fields, learning as they go. They should get the past masters of the field working on it, the engineers from Makita and John Deere, power tools and garden machinery experts. Also robots with chainsaws would be kinda cool.

    9. Re:Key invent by Meetch · · Score: 1
      The key here should be reaction to changes...

      Sensor registers a change in pressure or temperature, passes it up the line. Simultaneous changes amongst several sensors should be sent to higher levels, those with highest magnitude of change or threatening acceptable thresholds given highest priority. Above threshold signals could be fast-tracked to a release actuator's processor like a pain reflex, which could then make the decision to "bear with the pain" or "let go", depending on how important the burden is, whether it's holding a baby or a bowling ball. :)

      So if your robot hand grips a raw egg, it quickly registers the pressure of the grip so it can stop, but it is not bothered by further "status quo" sensor readings. Of course, a sudden drop in pressure could mean one of two things:- egg has been dropped, or it's just cracked under the pressure. That's where you need to check the goo sensor matrix...

      If us humans continuously tracked the output of everyone of our sensory nerves at a higher level, we'd forever be in sensory overload and would always be contemplation the need to react to the environment. My point is that such high volumes of sensory data should be manageable by programming sensor matrices to pay more attention to feeding back deltas and thresholds than continuously reading inputs.

  8. Your insinuation is curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are eluding to attach this sensitive skin to the erogenous zones of the female android, but you seem to overlook the fact that no matter what kind of special feeling devices you add to this thing, it's still a robot. Your attention to its feelings and pleasure is very strange. It's like worrying about the emotions your hand feels when you jack off. And really, isn't screwing a robot essentially the same thing?

    1. Re:Your insinuation is curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One day your hand is going to pack its bags and leave you, you insensitive bastard!

    2. Re:Your insinuation is curious by Frodo+Crockett · · Score: 1

      It's like worrying about the emotions your hand feels when you jack off. And really, isn't screwing a robot essentially the same thing?

      Nope. Thanks to small heating elements, the robot will never have cold hands!

      --
      "The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
    3. Re:Your insinuation is curious by bronney · · Score: 0, Funny

      What the hell are you talking about? Have you ever jerked off before? Touching oneself is totally different from being touched by someone else mate. I learned that in church.

    4. Re:Your insinuation is curious by foobsr · · Score: 1

      It's like worrying about the emotions your hand feels when you jack off.

      Hmm, considering the theory behind Korean hand acupuncture and hypothesizing that there might be a fourth ape (missing from the famous three) you might find reasons to worry.

      CC.

      --
      TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
    5. Re:Your insinuation is curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not going to even ask why Hyundai has information about acupuncture on their site...

  9. So now we'll have a robot... by TarryTops · · Score: 0

    that'll sweat, stink, fart and pee?

    --
    Java Oracle Linux Enthusiast
    1. Re:So now we'll have a robot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > that'll sweat, stink, fart and pee?

      Sounds like my roommate.

  10. Unlike most men by nietsch · · Score: 1

    this one will be able to put the toiletseat down afterwards.

    --
    This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
  11. Re:Actually by eobanb · · Score: 3, Funny

    for teaching women how to give a decent blowjob

    As opposed to an indecent blowjob, I gather.

    --

    Take off every sig. For great justice.

  12. I for one welcome... by threaded · · Score: 3, Funny

    I for one welcome our new touchy feely overlords.

  13. the ultimate nerd quest by pchan- · · Score: 5, Funny

    Say what you will, the Japanese have picked up the gauntlet to the biggest nerd challenge of all, getting a girlfriend. They're going to build her, they have the technology. She will be stronger, faster, better! Like an Aibo, she will always be happy to see you. She will be soft and smooth and react to touch due to this skin. She will walk upright like a QRIO or Asimo, be able to perform complex pre-programmed moves. She will have a mute button.

    The future is here. Domestic girlfriends are fuel efficient and reliable ...in Japan!

    1. Re:the ultimate nerd quest by FidelCatsro · · Score: 0

      The sado-masochists are (or rather ,are not)screwed though , Dammed three laws of robotics .

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    2. Re:the ultimate nerd quest by poopdeville · · Score: 2, Funny

      But... is it powered by urine?

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
    3. Re:the ultimate nerd quest by sadler121 · · Score: 1

      if they where it would give 'golden shower' a whole new meaning.

    4. Re:the ultimate nerd quest by Digital+Pizza · · Score: 0

      Not only that, but it'll be the BEST PROM EVER!

      --
      We apologize for the inconvenience.
    5. Re:the ultimate nerd quest by NiteHaqr · · Score: 1

      Go read/watch Chobits - they already have the idea's, they are just waiting for the technology to catch up.........

    6. Re:the ultimate nerd quest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The future is here. Domestic girlfriends are fuel efficient and reliable ...in Japan!"

      And, no doubt, those golden showers will really give "her" a boost...

  14. Whoo-hoo, the Japanes can now feel touch too! by nietsch · · Score: 1, Funny

    In other news tonight it was announced that Americans have now developed the capacity to think.

    Both are mere reinventions, evolution created those features by accident millions of years ago.

    Oh you mean artificial sensitive skin?

    --
    This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
    1. Re:Whoo-hoo, the Japanes can now feel touch too! by GuyWithLag · · Score: 1
      In other news tonight it was announced that Americans have now developed the capacity to think.

      Dude, I think you used the wrong analogy. Better s/think/smell/ or something like that...
    2. Re:Whoo-hoo, the Japanes can now feel touch too! by ricky-road-flats · · Score: 1
      In other news tonight it was announced that Americans have now developed the capacity to think.
      Yeah, right - man, you shouldn't believe everything you hear in the news...
  15. Re:Actually by TapeCutter · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Or how about a dildo with built in sensors for teaching women how to give a decent blowjob?"

    No thanks, I prefer to use my old-fashioned teaching tool.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  16. In Soviet Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The robot hands develop researchers suitable to graduate from the University of Tokyo!

  17. Why the Japanese Robot fetish? by boomgopher · · Score: 1

    It's cool and all, but why are the Japanese so hell bent on building robots? I understand they are concerned about the drop in the labor force due to lower birth rates, but do they hate immigrants that much? The chinese and koreans are nice folks :)

    As for the cute android - well, if I was Japanese, I think I'd rather date a real gal from Shanghai than than that thing :)

    --
    Your hybrid is not saving the environment. Its purpose is to make you feel good about buying something.
    1. Re:Why the Japanese Robot fetish? by Maian · · Score: 0
      well, if I was Japanese, I think I'd rather date a real gal from Shanghai than than that thing :)
      No, if you were Japanese, you'd be obsessed with fembots.
    2. Re:Why the Japanese Robot fetish? by vkkim · · Score: 1

       
      but do they hate immigrants that much?


      Yes, they do. Minorities in Japan

      The chinese and koreans are nice folks :)


      Thank you, but I know I speak for most Koreans (and some Chinese, but there are too many to speak for) when I say we will never, ever work for the Japanese voluntarily. (at least those of us who remember this and these.)
    3. Re:Why the Japanese Robot fetish? by MidnightBrewer · · Score: 2, Informative

      I am a minority in Japan, and find my current working conditions more than accommodating. Things change. We're not at war anymore. We haven't been for almost 50 years. How old are you, that you can remember all that?

      The Chinese have also done horrendous things in their 5,000-year history (to pretty much everybody, and the only thing that stopped them from doing it to Japan was a bit of water and bad weather.) Speaking of Korea, do you also remember this? For sheer nastiness, the only thing Koreans have to fear is themselves.

      War is ugly, but it is not unique to Japan. Nor is hatred fashionable, just because it seems to be fashionable right now to hate the Japanese. How can you pretend to be better than somebody when you can't even forgive them for something that happened before you were even born?

      I come from America, and we've committed our share of war atrocities (a lot of them against the Japanese, and that's not counting the American ones.) Luckily, we're also powerful and usually on the winning side, so we get to help out with how the history books are written. It works out well for the whole PR campaign.

      --
      "Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day; set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life
    4. Re:Why the Japanese Robot fetish? by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      "but do they hate immigrants that much?"

      Yes.

      The relatively lax immigration policies of what some call the anglosphere countries (especially the US and Canada) tend to be the exception rather than the norm when it comes to national attidudes towards immigration (and, yes, I am taking into account the current US attitude towards immigration from Mexico). Japan is perhaps more xenophobic than most, but I'm not comfortable calling it an extreme position.

      "The chinese and koreans are nice folks :)"

      In this particular case, it's probably more a matter of these immigrants hating the Japanese more. Whenever Koizumi visits a certain war (criminals) shrine, you'll typically hear news stories about, say, Koreans cutting off their own fingers in protest. Most Mexicans may hate the US, but not to this degree.

      Most of Japan's foreign labor, I believe, comes from the other direction, like the Philippines.

    5. Re:Why the Japanese Robot fetish? by randyflood · · Score: 1


      They need something to combat Godzilla.

      --
      Randy.Flood@RHCE2B.COM
  18. So... by mrRay720 · · Score: 1

    I guess this is a beowolf cluster of pressure and temperature sensors.

    Actually, this stuff looks pretty neat. It could easily be adapted for security uses too, I'm sure.

    1. Re:So... by mattyrobinson69 · · Score: 1

      a security use of this tech:

      WARNING, it appears somebody is trying to break into the skin covered building with a hammer/blowtorch

  19. Has to be said... by zecg · · Score: 1

    I, for one, welcome our new sensitive-fingered dominae.

    --
    .i lu doi ringos.star. xu do puku'aroroi dunli dopecaku leni virnu li'u
  20. Social deseases by jurt1235 · · Score: 1

    The Japanese have the weirdest social deseases of the world because of the current social structure. Having a robotic girlfriend will not turn too many heads I guess.

    Ok, the west scores pretty good with social desease too, but they are a lot less tech oriented than the Japanese, so if you live with your robotic friend in the west, it will make you a complete social outcast for sure.

    --

    My wife's sketchblog Blob[p]: Gastrono-me
  21. Sure, just what I need... by PornMaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do I really need to hear from my girlfriend that her robot is more sensitive than I am?

    1. Re:Sure, just what I need... by jav1231 · · Score: 0

      Just tell her that her robot is more sexually responsive than she is.

  22. it was there already by jaromil · · Score: 2, Interesting

    at least something very similar to it, and patented by Sony: www.csl.sony.co.jp/person/rekimoto/smartskin BTW one of the developers of smartskin is the author of effectv.sf.net i'd rather add that slashdot news are getting lousier every day, please keep it up.

  23. You're missing the point, mate by Moraelin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For starters, I was just going for a +1 Funny, but alas it seems I've just managed to be cryptic instead.

    Second, if I'm to actually think seriously about it, whether the robot is pleasured is pretty much the last thing that comes to mind. Think of it as simply a feedback loop.

    Think of it in terms of game design. You could just put the NPCs standing there and not bother with issues like AI or realistic reactions. They're just NPCs, right? Thy're there to be slaughtered. They're no better than cardboard targets, right? WTF do you care if they even try to defend themselves, or their team mates? It's not like they really have feelings or any real team spirit or anything, right?

    Well, it turns out that nevertheless, people like it more when they see some believable reaction to their _own_ actions. If you gave someone a choice between two FPS games, (A) one where everyone sits around like cardboard targets, and (B) one where you can see reactions ranging from teamwork (suppression fire, flanking, etc), to panic, to whatever else, as a result of your actions, chances are they'll prefer B any time.

    Or if we're talking robots, take some fine creations as the Aibo or various others. Some people buy an Aibo instead of just a statue of a dog. The point is precisely that you expect it to react to the environment or your actions, rather than just sit there looking like a dog.

    So _if_ I were to manufacture a robot companion, I'd want it to act and react as much as possible as the owner's expectations of a real person.

    The keyword there being "expectations", rather than being actually indistinguishable from a real person. E.g., someone looking for companionship that way probably expects something more along the lines of "co-dependent" than a realistic woman impersonation like "wtf, you never have time for me. If all that matters to you is World Of Warcraft, then I'm packing my bags and leaving." Again, not unlike game design and AI design: you have to match what the player expects, rather than create a perfect simulation or AI.

    And _if_ that robot is also usable for sex, that would include sensory input and reactions for that. Ranging from moaning at the right time to pressure sensors to enforce some limits of what it's doing. (E.g., if it's giving the owner a hand-job, you don't want the robot to yank the guy's tool clean off.)

    So there you go. Does that satisfy your curiosity?

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    1. Re:You're missing the point, mate by confused.brit · · Score: 1

      I dunno...

      As a female, I think I WOULD want it to yank the guys tool off.

      Then again, it is PMS time for me, so maybe I'm just bitchy....

      --
      Sigs are for wimps
  24. next up... by hitmark · · Score: 2, Interesting

    direct neural interface. basicly a chip that allow the sensors to talk to someones neural system so that one feel the pressure as if it was ones own skin.

    that in my view is realy the holy grail here. to get the feedback loop that is our interaction with the world going while using something thats not flesh.

    --
    comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
  25. Yes!!! by Sibb · · Score: 1

    No my computer can FEEL the love I have for it... ahhhh....

  26. Re:Actually by thc69 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    If you think Blow Jobs are the pinnicle of sex, then you are not having sex right.
    Or maybe you haven't had a good enough blow job.
    --
    Procrastination -- because good things come to those who wait.
  27. Uncanny valley by jackcarter · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

    I think that, if nothing else, a very realistic robot will be a good test to see if the uncanny valley actually exists.

    1. Re:Uncanny valley by tenco · · Score: 1

      Mori should have asked his guinea pigs if they watched a zombie movie recently.

  28. Sense of Touch for AI-Ready Robots by Mentifex · · Score: 0


    Robots with a tactile sense of touch may benefit greatly from the new laminate of pressure and temperature sensors.

    As the robot sensorium and motorium add such dazzling new features, artificial intelligence for robots is needed more than ever.

    Luckily, AI-ready robots and a Robot AI Mind are now available to the world.

    Click here for further details.

  29. Artificial Self-Awareness by Cycloid+Torus · · Score: 0

    With the complex sensor package comes the strong possibility that there can be self-awareness. The division between the self and the external becomes more apparent as the density and complexity of sensors increases.

    Continue this with the thought from the article:
    "It will be possible in the near future to make an electronic skin that has functions that human skin lacks," the researchers write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    Consider implication of sensor functions BEYOND human when they are married to self-awareness.

    A very interesting future...

    --
    Lost in space at an early age. Survived the vacuum. Now rebuilding castle in air.
  30. Pleasure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    If you entirely cover the robot with this "skin," will the resulting load of sensor inputs require a type of brain structure that could lead to behaviors purely focused on the sensor input--including "pleasure"?

    Addict robots, pervert robots, killer robots. With these one could automate the entire Republican Party!

    1. Re:Pleasure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Last I checked, most of the hippie pothead druggies were liberal/democrat/commie. Most republicans actually have these things called morals...perhaps you've heard of them? so there goes the pervert argument. hmm...as for killers...in a world where it's them or us...i'd rather not be the dead one.

    2. Re:Pleasure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Addict robots, pervert robots, killer robots. With these one could automate the entire Republican Party!"

      That trend already started, in 2000. We have Dubya -- the puppet, Chaney -- the puppet puppeteer, and Bandar Bush -- the wizard puppeteer. Don't think it's a mere coincidence that between DARPA, NASA, NSA, and USAF Space Command there has been a huge push toward increasing the numbers of Dubya's robotic brethren. The goal, perhaps, is Nexus 6 overlords.

  31. Re:Actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did you just feel like seeing yourself type, or what? GP poster said or implied nothing about it being the "pinnicle" [sic] of sex. Just because it's Slashdot doesn't mean you have to be contrary.

    Hang your head in shame.

  32. Re:Actually by orasio · · Score: 1


    Or how about a dildo with built in sensors for teaching women how to give a decent blowjob? (Up until now that has been an acquired skill).


    You need strong robotic muscles to make that teaching, reinforceable.

  33. damage by Swervin · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't a better way to avoid damage be to allow the processors closest to the sensor to quickly evaluate if it was being damaged and if so pull back the hand or whatever part without direct control from the main system? Sort of like when you're getting burned and you pull back before you even realize you were burned.

    1. Re:damage by Mycroft_VIII · · Score: 1

      The human body already does something like this. If you touch a really hot object (say red hot metal) the way past limit signal hits the spinal cord and sets off a the pull-back reflex signal to the muscles even as the signal is being sent to the brain.
          And yes having a fairly low level processors (say l2) be normally set to act on it's own initiative unless a higher level overides might make sense. Given that for such tasks and signals the system would likely be much faster than human nervous system you could react faster at the same distance. It's in the more complex tasks that the brain excells, where the parrellel nature of neurons (and other properties they have) exceed modern cpu's.

      Mycroft

      --
      https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
  34. A bit of grand-standing by shpoffo · · Score: 1

    "It will be possible in the near future to make an electronic skin that has functions that human skin lacks," the researchers write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    Future artificial skins could incorporate sensors not only for pressure and temperature, but also for light, humidity, strain or sound, they add.

     
    Huh, last time I checked my skin can detect light, humidity, strain and sound fluctuations. When I'm more relaxed, I actually have a fairly broad range of sensitivity.
     
    I'm all for new sensor tech, but they doesn't have to get stupid just to try to justify the value of their invention.
     
    .
    -shpoffo

  35. Best Prom Ever! by protolith · · Score: 1

    Now I can finish my robot, My GIRL robot, This is goint to be the best prom ever, he he he he