Company Offers To Pay You $130,000 To Put Your Face On a Robot (cnet.com) 35
A British engineering and manufacturing firm called Geomiq has put out a call for people interested in being the face of a new "state-of-the-art humanoid" it's developing with an unnamed company. The lucky winner with the "kind and friendly" face that the company is looking for will receive $130,000. CNET reports: "The company is searching for a 'kind and friendly' face to be the literal face of the robot once it goes into production," Geomiq says in a blog post about the project. "This will entail the selected person's face being reproduced on potentially thousands of versions of the robots worldwide." The robot line has been in the works for five years, Geomiq says, and will result in a companion for seniors.
The blog post doesn't share age or gender parameters, only asking people who want to license their face to submit a photo via email for the chance at about $130,000. Candidates who make it to the "next phase" will apparently get full details on the project. The secrecy, Geomiq says, is due to a non-disclosure agreement it's signed with the robot's designer and investors.
The blog post doesn't share age or gender parameters, only asking people who want to license their face to submit a photo via email for the chance at about $130,000. Candidates who make it to the "next phase" will apparently get full details on the project. The secrecy, Geomiq says, is due to a non-disclosure agreement it's signed with the robot's designer and investors.
Calling Mr Rogers (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Django Fett (Score:2)
Nooooo! (Score:1)
They don't need human faces! You fools are helping them disguise themselves! This is stupider than giving superpowers to animals!
Re: (Score:2)
Why have humanoid robots effigies of human slavery, inherently it is awful, why have an effigy of a human slave, hidden automation is far better and far, far more safe and secure. Robo chef arm in kitchen cubicle, which you do not enter, can only damage that enclosed cubicles, what you want is the food, do you really want as slave to order about, or just an automated delivery bot or just pick it up at the kitchen cubicle bar, and return dirty dishes to the same locale. Not robot in sight, just a control scr
Re: (Score:1)
Wow, you've clearly thought this out a lot. These are some good points you make. I was just thinking that it would be dangerous to make it easy for robots to pass as humans. We could just give them cartoon faces, or stylized "robot" faces based on images from existing works of fiction. Many of these types of fiction already do contain admonishments against the dangers of letting robots pass themselves off as humans without even breaking ground on how sick the symbolism is in the first place. But you re
Re: (Score:2)
What on earth does any of this have to do with "slavery"? I suspect it's more to do with the way you think about the world than what the vast majority of the world do.
It's fairly evident that you've never done any interaction studies, or worked in the robotics field in a serious way; having a human look helps people interact with the technology in the first place (why do you think that there is a strong desire for recognisable voices on the automated call lines)?
It's also fine to have augmentation machiner
Re: (Score:2)
They could just use computer generated faces anyway, no need to pay someone for their likeness.
Anyway, porn is always a major driver of new technology and sexbots need realistic faces, among other things.
Re: (Score:2)
Anyway, porn is always a major driver of new technology and sexbots need realistic faces, among other things.
Well, to be fair, sexbots need highly UN-realistic naughty bits.
somebody in the hive call 7 of 9! (Score:2)
Jeri Ryan would be perfect for this.
Not a lot of sales... (Score:2)
Another Nigerian scam! (Score:1)
To license your face, send a picture? [To collect the prince's inheritance, just send 100 dollars to this numbered bank account...]
Watermark your pix...
Me! Oh fuck, use me! (Score:2)
No need to pay me anything, but use my face!
In your lense, face recognition technology!
Digital logo (Score:5, Insightful)
Dear editors, please google Digital Equipment Corp. Actually I can't believe slashdot has hung on this long.
Re: (Score:2)
I was wondering what's up with that, too. If they're digging up old corporate logos for some random, unfathomable reason, why doesn't SUN get some love? Maybe they can pull it out on those solar power articles.
There's so many to choose from: Netscape, Packard-Bell, Gateway2000, Maxtor, Commodore...
Re: (Score:2)
Came here to say this: old timers know, but the current editors have no idea what DEC used to be (with the D.I.G.I.T.A.L logo) ...
Morons (Score:2)
They'll take your photo and your waiver, then mash them all together with some shitty neural network, then award the prize to no one as no one's face was the winner. They'll just shit out generic and odd looking faces for various genders and races. Oh, and the company will go bust soon, so these things may never actually come out at all beyond a few, freaky prototypes.
Re: (Score:1)
No idea why they wouldn't just do this to begin with. What possible advantage would they gain from using a real humans' photograph ? Publicity I guess?
Or maybe they're hoping for Lucy Liu to make Lucy Liu bots. But we all know how that turns out.
Saved. (Score:3)
Kind and Friendly Face (Score:2)
I nominate Betty White. She'd be perfect for the role and it would give her immortality for a while longer.
Re: (Score:2)
May I suggest ... (Score:2)
Easy and obvious answer (Score:2)
Robert Picardo.
Great way to avoid facial recognition (Score:2)
Co. Tricks People Into Submitting Photos (Score:2)
Alternate Title: Company Tricks People Into Submitting Photos to Facial-Recognition Database
There are no terms and conditions on their blog post. They don't even have a form for submitting photos, just an email address.