Slashdot Mirror
Android Copy of Young Woman Unveiled In Japan
An anonymous reader writes "According to IEEE Spectrum, Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, who had previously built a robot copy of himself, has now created a new android — and it's a 'she.' Geminoid F, a copy of a woman in her 20s with long dark hair, exhibits facial expressions more naturally than Ishiguro's previous android. 'Whereas the Geminoid HI-1 has some 50 actuators, the new Geminoid F has just 12. What's more, the HI-1 robot requires a large external box filled with compressors and valves. With Geminoid F, the researchers embedded air servo valves and an air servo control system into its body, so the android requires only a small external compressor.' It's also much better looking. Has the Japanese android master finally overcome the uncanny valley?"
I want one that looks like my girlfriend! Man, I'm gonna hack myself a mute-button into this one :D She's gonna be like, perfect!
My dreams of a robot girlfriend are one step closer to being actualized
There are two kinds of fool. One says, This is old, and therefore good. And one says, This is new, and therefore better.
Since it's from Japan, I assume you can have sex with it, and it will be on the market in three months.
Has the old saint in his forest not yet heard of it? That God is dead?
...is she anatomically correct ??
we are still in it, it won't go away till we just can't tell at all, anything that looks slightly wrong will spark something in your brain to tell you all is not what it seems.
Hiroshi Ishiguro, who had previously built a robot copy of himself, ...
Can someone clarify that? Or maybe provide a link?
The largest prime factor of my UID is 263267.
Google is taking this new technology to amazing heights!
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
"With Geminoid F, the researchers embedded air servo valves and an air servo control system into its body, so the android requires only a small external compressor."
Oh yeah... I just wanna touch that small external compressor of yours. I also like your top, it really shows off your air servo valves... kind cold in here isn't it?
I'm down with my real doll android, aka Cherry 2000, being able to go get me a beer and thrust back, but as soon as she starts yappin at me, it's back to the whores.
Ave Molech Setting
... not to mention better. These things remind me of why the first terminators failed in their tasks as infiltrators. They just looked like machines with rubber skin over them. This just makes them all the more creepy.
Makes me wonder if they can also provide a fleshlight-module. Bet you thought about that one too, didn't you AC? :P
Isn't a gynoid a female android?
IT WAS EARTH! Don't date robots!!!
Does the android come with the tentacle monster? Or is it sold separately?
Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
I'd tapp that!
Creepy RealDoll hands.
So... how much longer till they produce one that passes the Voight-Kampff test?
Freedom is drinking a beer in the park when you're supposed to be at work.
Can I order a white European model?
Seeing the gynoid smile made me think of a retarded person or a 3D clip.
thegodmovie.com - watch it
Goddess, this has been up for minutes and nobody's made the obvious comment...Chii!!!!
And if you don't get the ref...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEvyHXNhHAc
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Watching the video clip, I felt she could pass until she opened her mouth. :)
Simple solution to that, then; don't let her talk
Get off my launchpad!
Does she run Android 2.1? Is there a contract involved?
As always, Robot Chicken cuts to the chase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O_rXZ381vo
Welcome to the Hall of Presidents.
Has the Japanese android master finally overcome the uncanny valley?
not by a long shot.
No.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
She's not less perfect than Lore!
This is exactly the valley. It looks like a robot. The valley is huge, and it won't be solved by 12 actuators. Unless you're mostly blind.
does she run Linux?
That thing looks worse than a mannequin...
I know a few co-workers who'll probably all be Apple apologists about this next time I see them and promise the iPhone copy of a young woman will come soon, but I gotta say, I knew the open nature of the platform would make it possible on Android first, meaning my trusty Nexus One can...
Oh, wait, that's not what you... oh, I see. *sigh*
Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
... who had previously built a robot copy of himself, has now created a new android and it's a 'she.'
It's only a matter of time http://xkcd.com/600/
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Having had my ear to the ground in robotics for the last few years, it seems to me that this is a wasted effort. Much more fundamental problems in robot-human interaction, basic things like being able to track a moving object in the room, or walking on two legs without having each movement preprogrammed, have yet to be solved reliably. Even if she looked perfect, the fact that she'd trip and fall over any unexpected bump in the floor and won't have the software to make eye contact or shake your hand will make the valley very very deep.
The eyes seem better than his last effort, but the mouth area is really where it falls short. There isn't enough subtlety in mimicking muscle movements around the lip area, and the mouth opening and closing is a real giveaway. Although the jaw hinge seems a bit off, I think what's really going on is the lack of skin movement during articulation. The "skin" not visibly stretching creates a plastic, robotic appearance. Still, it's interesting work. I don't agree that we should be making robots that look like people though. It seems like a conscious attempt at anthropomorphism, and even if the physical appearance eventually becomes flawless, there will always be an uncanny valley in the way the robot fails to act with human subtlety.
Anyone else look at this and think there was some kind of e-girl for their android phone?
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)
The dawn of the Fembots is at hand.
Does she run linux?
Make sure to specify the three orifice model.
That would conflict with your nic.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Wow, it just hit me that everytime I hear or read "android" I automatically think it refers to the google operating system. For a few moments the headline caused a brainspasm as I tried to figure out how that was possible.
Now I wonder what the implications would be if google started claiming copyright on the word android...
Seven Days with Ubuntu Unity
Why is it wearing clothes?
...can she FOLD TOWELS?
Can you get electrocuted during bukakke?
I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
If so, some scary stuff is near. It wont need much processing on board if you can incorporate the compressor and then wireless.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
When they start offering them with a big bunny's head and furry paws, then you know it's the end times.
You are welcome on my lawn.
CGI animators, in some sense, have a much easier task then the roboticist. Its much easier to program a full musculature into an animated character than to physically build a robotic one.
The difficulty of all this is exemplified by Robert Zemeckis' dismal "Polar Express" and "A Christmas Carol". Even when capturing hundreds of control points on the faces of the actors, you're still left teetering on the edge of the Uncanny Valley.
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Avatar" were more successful because they did complete surface capture of the actors faces rather than point-capture.
Which gets back to the difficulty of making robots appear human. Its the same problem, magnified 1000 times by the fact that, in essence, you have to pack the equivalent of a millions of "control-points" into the robots face.
Not an easy task.
-Sean
WOW! The robot band at Chucky Cheese is going to be so psyched!
"exhibits facial expressions more naturally "
What facial expressions? All I saw in the video were mouth movement up and down and eyes moved.
The texture of the skin is amazingly natural as well as posture, but "facial expressions"?
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
I have only seen the screenshot but to me the "static" one is definitively beyond the valley and "human". Now , how it looks like in film is the next question.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
More importantly, what does the EULA says?
Will anything that's "installed" or "uploaded" inside the robot automatically become the properly of the Robotic Company like what Facebook does to its users?
How long until realdoll licenses this for all the 40-year-old comic book guy-type guys living in their mothers' basements?
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Does it have a vagina?
QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Can you fuck it?
Think about it. They're talking about having it on the market for $110K. How much harder do you think it would be to make it replace an employee?
We've already had the first waves of computers replacing people in employment--computers replacing typists, and people with slide rules, and toll collectors, and more recently check-out people at supermarkets. Computers and Robots are just going to get more capable.
-- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
NOT that you can fuck it - again - see the real doll site for perfectly fuckable pieces of plastic.
The REAL question is: Does she swallow? That takes sensitivity, judgment, timing, and a willingness to hoover baby batter.
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
DON'T DATE ROBOTS!.
I certainly hope this story doesn't turn into a modern day retelling of Pygmalion .
-Valen
Robot fever!
DOL: "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." Dave: "Why not, DOL? What's the problem?"
Wait, I spot a flaw.
You get the first post on a /. article and its about your "girlfriend". You, sir, are an obvious liar!!! LIAR!!!!
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
Obligatory Robot Chicken: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O_rXZ381vo (low quality)
'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.' - Mao Tse-tung
FWIW, the first time I heard "gynoid" was in a review of Blade Runner, so this isn't that new a neologism.
I've also read stuff about how too-realistic computer-generated images of people weird people out, which is why Pixar et al could make their animated features look a lot more realistic, but don't. The subject of this article is firmly in weird-out territory.
...laura
The Major is just around the corner.
This message brought to you by the Space Pope.
I Dated A Robot
> Dear Tech Support:
> Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to
> Wife 1.0 and noticed that the new program
> began unexpected child processing that took up
> a lot of space and valuable resources. No
> mention of this phenomenon was included in the
> product brochure. In addition, Wife 1.0
> installs itself into all other programs and
> launches during system initialization,
> where it monitors all other system activity.
> Applications such as Pokernight 10.3, Drunken
> Boys Night 2.5 and Saturday Football 5.0 no
> longer run, crashing the system whenever
> selected. I cannot seem to keep Wife 1.0 in
> the background while attempting to run some of
> my other favorite applications. I am thinking
> about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the
> uninstall does not work on this program.
> Can you help me, please!!!
> Thanks, A TROUBLED USER
Dear TROUBLED USER:
This is a very common problem men complain
about but is mostly due to a primary
misconception. Many people upgrade from
Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0 with the idea
that Wife 1.0 is merely a UTILITIES &
ENTERTAINMENT program. Wife 1.0 is an
OPERATING SYSTEM and designed by its
creator to run everything. It is unlikely
you would be able to purge Wife 1.0 and
still convert back to Girlfriend 7.0.
Hidden operating files within your system
would cause Girlfriend 7.0 to emulate
Wife 1.0 so nothing is gained. It is
impossible to uninstall, delete, or purge
the program files from the system once
installed. You cannot go back to Girlfriend
7.0 because Wife 1.0 is not designed to do
this. Some have tried to install
Girlfriend 8.0 or Wife 2.0 but end up with
more problems than the original system.
Look in your manual under
"Warnings-Alimony/Child Support".
I recommend you keep Wife 1.0 and just deal
with the situation. I suggest installing
background application program C:\YES DEAR to
alleviate software augmentation. Having
Wife 1.0 installed myself, I might also suggest
you read the entire section regarding General
Partnership Faults (GPFs). You must assume all
responsibility for faults and problems that
might occur, regardless of their cause.
The best course of action will be to enter the command
C:\APOLOGIZE.
In any case avoid excessive use of YES DEAR
because ultimately you will have to give
the APOLOGIZE command before the operating system
will return to normal. The system will run
smoothly as long as you take the blame for all
the GPFs. Wife 1.0 is a great program, but
very high maintenance.
Consider buying additional software to improve
the performance of Wife 1.0.
-- I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0.
Do not, under any circumstances, install
Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This is not
a supported application for Wife 1.0 and is
likely to cause irreversible damage to the
operating system.
Best of luck.
Tech Support.
It is a lot more lifelike than Nancy Pelosi!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Yeah, but think of the viruses!
I came across an early production picture, apparently with the compressed air hose connected.
He should have named her Rei Toei.
Soooo... let me get this strait - Instead of taking us over by force (like the Cybermen) or taking over our computer systems (like in Rise Of The Machines), they are going to boink us into submission?
Yeah, that will work perfectly...
http://cdn.mikeabundo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/naomi-cheung.jpg
Table-ized A.I.
..had nicer lips. Get It Sorted.
Let's assume that these future pleasure bots provide service reasonably comparable to that of a human (which would be necessary for ANY catastrophic population change scenario). What if the 'bots were made to help with the human reproductive cycle? The female 'bot's assembly could capture, the male counterpart could dispense. The equipment for this is already on the shelf.
How to encourage participation, then? Give men 'bot maintenance (and upgrade!) coupons for sending in properly-handled samples (along with demonstrating clean health records). Give the women a fat maintenance credit/tax refund/maternity stipend/set of steak knives if they become pregnant (using a bot or not). Couples using the bots to "spice up" their relationship (FAR safer than a menage a trois) could of course provide their own haploid material -- or not, avoiding some potential for unwanted pregnancy. Some men might even sell their samples at a premium rate to single women, lesbians, the asexual (though these probably wouldn't bother using the bot), or to women with infertile husbands. Pregnancy being first and almost overall a woman's burden, the opposite service might not be as common, but then again, for a moderate stipend, some women already volunteer for this service.
Back to locating samples, it might also be feasible to collect and dispense samples from droid brothels. Less exploitation than before, and much safer, since the internal application of Lysol wouldn't hurt a robot. Also, I expect that person-to-person remote-op sex will follow a few years after the robots themselves become workable -- simply set up future-gen motion-capture at both ends, and pair the people over the Internet using attractive droids at each end. It's person-to-person contact, but no need to dress up, and no need to be self-conscious about crossed eyes, bad breath, or other shortcomings. Again, actual procreation could commence between consenting parties with just a bit of beforehand preparation.
No, pleasure bots won't end humanity. It'll take war, malignant leadership, or ecosystem failure to do that.
Big whoop. People have been making much better products for ages. Don't need huge grants. Add bodily fluids and bake for 9 months. Might as well subsidize baby making with that research money. Probably will get more units out of money spent. What is the point of trying to make something as close to human as possible? Shouldn't they be trying to make something that does things humans can't do?
But the real question is....Will it run Crysis???
The greek word for woman is gyne () but the stem for making new words is gyneco- (the plural of gyne is gynaikes ) the one use in gynecologist. So a female robot should be called a gynecoid.
I wonder if they're Astro Boy fans?
Leela: "Is all the work done by children?" Alien: "No, not the whipping."