Japanese Build Pocket Robot-Cellphone Hybrid 81
An anonymous reader writes "Japanese researchers unveiled yesterday a pocket-size telepresence robot called Elfoid. The device, which looks like a little ghost, transmits voice and motion over a 3G network to convey a person's 'presence' to a remote location. It's a creation of Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University who is known for his lifelike teleoperated androids. The Elfoid has a limited range of motion, but its creators are planning to equip it with mini-actuators so it can imitate the movements of the person on the other end of the line. With vaguely formed features, the device is designed to be a surrogate of people of any age or gender."
riiight... (Score:2, Interesting)
might be my next cellphone? no thanks, I may enjoy the song "voodoo people" by prodigy, but that doesn't mean i want a voodoo doll for a cellphone
Bender & the card (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't know why, but for some reason, this just makes me think of the robotic greeting card sitting on Bender's shoulder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Futurama_219_-_Mother's_Day.jpg [wikipedia.org]