Linux-Powered Humanoid Robot on Sale Friday 181
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'."
Re:Strange requirement in FAQ (Score:5, Insightful)
And on top of that, if Mitsubishi needs to push out the service pack that fixes the "Push gramma down the stairs" bug, having an always-on connection will allow that to happen without the device needing to specifically connect for that (by which time it may be too late).
Re:..services.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Really? That's worked for me with every girl I've ever dated. Maybe you're just not good enough at it?
Try memorizing these:
"That looks great on you!"
"No, that doesn't make you fat"
"The red one(s) definitely go better with that"
"That was an excellent meal." (Bonus points for memorizing something like "How can a man NOT be happy when he eats like that?")
"She's not as ________ as you."
"Why would she say that to you?!"
Honestly, it shouldn't be very hard to memorize 20 or 30 of these and make most girls happy.
Why do I assume we're talking about women? If this robot was designed to cook, clean, and fuck, we wouldn't be discussing "meaningful conversation" right now, but rather crying that they're all sold out.
$14000... (Score:3, Insightful)
gross color (Score:4, Insightful)
Augh!!! my eyes...
Humanoids are silly... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:..services.. (Score:2, Insightful)
I read valet as escort, and escort as call-girl, and call-girl as hooker.
TFA is not loading, but if this looks anything like this recently unveiled robot [livescience.com]... come on, it's a sex bot. They always talk about how the robots will cook, clean, watch children and the elderly. But, cut through the BS, and lets be honest. It's a sex bot that everyone is really waiting for. People want a Real Doll [realdoll.com] that can actually "perform".
Sure, they'll make robots to do everything. But, I don't think I'm being careless in saying that every technilogical advancement had sex as its goal, and as its pioneering breakthrough.
The average person knew about the net not when Amazon founded a virtual bookstore, not when eBay opened an online auction, not when news organizations and research because infinitely easier online... The average person knew about the net when their friends, kids, or spouse started downloading porn.
The average person will not really get into robots, until they can really "get into" robots, if you know what I mean. After all, aren't all of our most expensive toys those which we either can have sex in or which can get us sex? Geeks are not excluded from that statement with their computers. God knows we have enough combined porn on our harddrives to make Seymore Butts look like an amature... and what old school geek didn't have at least one of the original Leasure Suit Larry games.
When robots can have sex, you'll see one in every home. That doesn't mean they'll all be sex bots, but I think sex bots will usher in more acceptance, especially since such bots will ultimately make the key breakthroughs in human interaction. Realistically, sex is the ultimate 1-on-1 test of a robot. I think humans may just not be comfortable with a thing until it can be connected to intimately. I dunno if that's because we instictually have to mark our territory, or because in the end, sex is an ultimate emotional bond. I suppose both statements may be true, especially depending on the sex of the person.
Who would buy this? (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:Humanoids are silly... (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, we have the dishwasher, oven, stove, refrigerator, blenders, etcetera. But do we really spend less time cooking (okay, I'm not a TV dinner man) or on housework?
No, we go out to make more elaborate or varied dishes in terms of cooking. Or in housework, we make conditions more sanitary (kitchen, dishes, bathroom, etc) than existed for the average Joe in the 1850s before all these gadgets.
In the end, all the gadgets don't really save time - but they let us do things better or more elaborate than before.
And dishwashers can't clean hardened gunk nor load themselves. Nor unload themselves and stack plates away. Vacuum cleaners don't push themselves (don't even bring up that roomba toy).
Our enviroments and gadgets conform to us. The natural next step are humanoid robots that can take over us driving these appliances.
The thing is, it's not the hardware keeping us back. It's a sufficient AI. (Assuming of course, we can make one work on a Turing-type machine).