WETA Working on Robotic Lizard For Science

Roland Piquepaille writes "The tuatara, which is both related to lizards and snakes, is one of the planet's oldest reptile species. It's been living in New Zealand for about 200 million years. Scientists still don't know much about their behavior, so they've asked Weta Workshop, a Wellington-based company known for its work on 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, to build a robotic male tuatara. It is equipped with cameras which will help the researchers to discover how real male tuatara attract and keep females. The goal is to help conservation managers to the genetically fittest, most productive males. But what will happen if a female tuatara discovers that the robot is an impostor?"

What the females will think is...

[SaidinUnleashed]

YAY, now I can get an evening of peace while his lizard love bot entertains him!!

Extinction

[N. P. Coward]

But what will happen if a female tuatara discovers that the robot is an impostor?

Complete Satisfaction?

Re:Er...how?

[pimpimpim]

I agree. Imagine that realdolls [www.realdolls] are actually a scientific project from aliens, equipped with cameras and wireless transmitters, for the sake of studying human replication behaviour. Now imagine the kind of image these aliens would get from human replication behaviour, this would be rather skewed, wouldn't it.

Also imagine how the slashdotters will behave towards their realdolls after having read this. Or better, try your best not to imagine any of this.

Not getting it

[codeButcher]

That's almost like equipping an android (or in lieu of that, a geek) with cameras to figure out how "real" men "attract and keep females".

Robot sex

[Chiasmus_]

It looks like, basically, what's been created is a realistic robot tuatara designed to attract females and essentially turn them on sexually through dominance displays. And at least in theory, it's real enough that they can't distinguish it from the real thing. If we have this technology - why are we wasting it on lizard-snakes?? Where's my robot girlfriend?

Re:Er...how?

[pimpimpim]

Ah, your comment gave me the solution! Indeed, the Tuatura is, by itself, hardly able to use the tools needed to buy themselves a robot Tuatura for their casual sex pleasure. So, what do they do? They leave their Tuatura planet and start a milion year journey through space, until they found a planet with creatures that have opposable thumbs. These creatures were dumb as shit, but that was not a problem for the Tuatura, as they can influence any creature with their mind waves. Now, this doesn't go particularly fast, also because Tuaturas tend to stop doing anything at night. But they don't mind, they have time enough anyway. What is happening now, and all our technological advancement in general, is just nearing its end in the creation of the final goal, the robot Tuatura sex slave. Damnit man, we're voluntarily building it for them! And you call us more intelligent than them! Did anyone ever gave YOU a robot sex slave for free?

I have additional evidence for the Tuaturas being aliens, so it must be true: Remember that Poster in the creationism museum telling us that after the fall of Eden it was harsh work for all of us? Well, think about what Tuaturas do all day! They just sit around on a warm rock in the sun waiting till some small insect comes by that they eat. Is that harsh labor? Also, isn't this an extraorddrinary intelligent way to spend your day, instead of working your ass of for a meager salary? These are not from here dude.

Re:Er...how?

[NMerriam]

Imagine that realdolls [www.realdolls] are actually a scientific project from aliens, equipped with cameras and wireless transmitters, for the sake of studying human replication behaviour. Now imagine the kind of image these aliens would get from human replication behaviour

King Xyylax! We have studied the human mating behavior for years and now know precisely how it happens! Once the woman is boiled, coitus is brief, then the woman is doused in bleach before she is thrown in a closet and covered with dirty clothes. Then the male weeps uncontrollably for several minutes before falling asleep. Invasion should be simple.

Clearly Tuaturas are more advanced than humans.

[Futurepower(R)]

Yes, clearly Tuaturas are more advanced than humans. On the second page of the linked article it says that Tuaturas have methods of avoiding aggression. Humans, on the other hand, kill other humans [democracynow.org] over anything that will make money, like restricting the supply of oil to make more profit.

Huh?

[edittard]

The tuatara, which is both related to lizards and snakes

It's both related to them and what? Shares a house with them? Perhaps they all own a business?

Re:Er...how?

[HTH NE1]

I'm sure that a Tuatara also can't build a realistic model of itself with great success.

They've been around for 200 million years! I think they know how to make realistic models of themselves with great success.

Thus our interest in their mating rituals.

What's that buzzing sound?

[fahrbot-bot]

But what will happen if a female tuatara discovers that the robot is an impostor?

The same thing, I suspect, that happens with human females:
She'll be very satisfied, until the batteries die.

Re:I for one...

[sgt_doom]

Why don't they just come to the USA and borrow our very own robotic lizard, Dickie Cheney???

I haven't read the article yet but...

[cgreuter]

I just want to say that this is the coolest Slashdot headline I've seen in a while. All it needs is proper capitalization and punctuation:

WETA Working on Robotic Lizard FOR SCIENCE!!!!!!!111!!!!eleven!!!

And for best results, do a Magnus Pike impersonation when reading it.