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Linux-Powered Humanoid Robot on Sale Friday
An anonymous reader writes "LinuxDevices is reporting that a run of 100 Linux-powered humanoid robots goes on sale this Friday in Japan. From the article: 'priced at 1.5M Yen (about $14,000), not including 10,000 Yen (~$90) monthly service fees. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries conceived of Wakamuru as a pleasant companion offering a range of electronic-age valet services'."
between beowulf clusters and robot overlords, how is a troll to control him(her)self?
Johns: Well, how does it look now? Riddick: Looks clear.
"Mitsubishi says it has tried to create a robot that can sustain meaningful relationships with human beings, initiating conversations with family members and offering services such as alarm, news, weather, and email dictation. The device can look after the house, provide video streams over cellular networks, and cull useful information over the Internet, while maintaining its own autonomous "rhythm of life," the company says"
so.. what good is that the product is a 'robot' instead of being a program sold to run on your already existing computers?
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
what?
don't look at me like that!
"Wakamaru's claimed battery life is two hours, after which the robot returns to its charging station before power fails completely." Hmmm - I hope it knows how far it is back to the charging base......
1,5M Yen and it still can't climb stairs. Sure is cheaper than a Dalek though, and (hopefully) with less genocidal tendencies.
Will wank off Linus Torvalds for fame.
I see it provides valet services. How long before some lonely Linux geek programmes it to provide 'maid' services?
I just went through to the proper homepage and read the FAQ.
One of the questions is:
Do I need to sign up with an Internet provider to use "wakamaru"?
A "wakamaru" needs a continuous broadband connection, but if you don't have your own provider, when you purchase "wakamaru" it may be possible to have Internet service included.
Why would it need a broadband connection?
Apart from anything, it connects during its charging sessions, but just what information could it need?
liqbase
"Wakamaru's claimed battery life is two hours, after which the robot returns to its charging station before power fails completely. It maintains Internet access and communications capabilities while charging, Mitsubishi says."
Man - they managed to make this robot resemble a geek real good. And even improving the standard geek. I mean - mainitaining internet access while you sleep? Man - I'm so there!
Underholdning.info
Oh wait...
Does it dump core? And how about panicing?
You don't know what you don't know.
...like I am for my robot project.
Basically, I have grown sick of the whole "BSD is dying" "Oh no it isn't!" arguments and have decided to settle the matter once and for all.
As such, I am currently completing the construction of a 200 foot tall killer robot equipped with nuclear tipped missiles, dual chainsaw attachments and the obligatory friggin' laser beams coming out if its head.
Once finished, I am going to set it to work tracking down every last BSD developer on the planet and executing them in a variety of colourful ways (starting with that asshole Theo of course). When the project is complete, we will all know that BSD is in fact dead.
So why not use Linux I hear you ask? Simple - it's the GPL licence. Obviously my robot requires a lot of proprietary code - device drivers for the death rays and odour recognition software (I figure this is the easiest way to track down open source programmers) to name but two.
If I had chosen the GPL, I would be forced to release this code back to the community. And then it's just a matter of time before some gawky twat with an Apple Newton somehow uploads a virus and foils my plans. The BSD licence enables me to keep this code secret which I'm sure you'll agree is a huge benefit to my project.
Hooray for BSD! Goodbye karma!
Its wearing a skirt you insensitive clod! ;)
for a rolling duck with arms? I don't give a f*** what it runs inside, you can keep it.
is it available in any color other than bath-duck yellow?
Augh!!! my eyes...
need a free COBOL editor for Windows?
Wouldn't it be easier, and cheaper, to buy a dog and tape your schedule to it?
...if there's one thing that the history of technology teaches us, it's that successful devices do work by slavishly imitating the way a human being would do it.
In early SF, humanoid robots washed dishes. Automatic dishwashers are common, but they do not have robotic hands that pick up plates and scrub brushes over them and then wipe them with cloths.
We spend less time cooking, but not because we have robotic cooks. Or, at least, not in our homes. What we have instead is a distribution system for meals (or major components thereof--entrees, frozen vegetable mixtures) that are prepared and cooked factories, shipped frozen or refrigerated, and heated in microwaves.
We do not have humanoid robots that play pianos or violins. We do not even have player pianos or "orchestrions" in the home. Instead, we have CD players and iPods.
A humanoid robot may evoke a pleasant retro nostalgia, but it makes about as much sense as an ornithopter.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
The name "Wakamaru" is yet another Japanese pun (much like "Pokemon" was a combination of "Poketto" (pocket) and "Monstaa" (monster) to yield a word that sounded like "bakemon," (supernatural creature)), this time a combination of "wakai" (young) and "-maru" (suffix for male names) to yield a word that means "little one," while also sounding like "wakaru," which means "to understand."
Doesn't it make you wish our product names were as clever?
They got the dimensions and colors about right, but the should've made it a penguin
"What?"
"I don't understand!"
"Where's the tea?"
Humanoid with open sores....
"We are all geniuses when we dream"
- E.M. Cioran
It sounds like it has no useful functionality beyond being a mobile internet terminal.
its a shame that this really appears to be a way to establish the first robot product marketing strategy (i.e. ongoing montlhy service contract) rather than actually providing a product that the public needs.
Ok so my questions:
* how usable are those mitten-like hand things? can it fetch me a beer from the fridge? or just order a beer online to be delivered?
* does it include a Roomba? If it's going to be rolling around my apartment anyway...
* with a 10,000 word vocabulary, what kind of conversation can you have with it? i'm imagning a weird sort of Japanese "Eliza" (Eriza?). "Why do you think it is imporant to wake up at 6:00?"
Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. --Nietzsche
Hire a four-year old. Cheaper, smarter, cuter, much better conversation, can climb stairs and can actually do the things that Mitsubishi claims for the robot plus much more.
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry