Human-Robot Love and Marriage in 2050

Dr. David Levy, an artificial intelligence researcher from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands predicted and told of his research to LiveScience. Excerpts from the report:

There's a trend of robots becoming more human-like in appearance and coming more in contact with humans," Levy said. "At first robots were used impersonally, in factories where they helped build automobiles, for instance. Then they were used in offices to deliver mail, or to show visitors around museums, or in homes as vacuum cleaners, such as with the Roomba. Now you have robot toys, like Sony's Aibo robot dog, or Tickle Me Elmos, or digital pets like Tamagotchis."

In his thesis [Levy successfully defended on Oct. 11], "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners," Levy conjectures that robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them.

"It may sound a little weird, but it isn't," Levy said. "Love and sex with robots are inevitable."

Levy predicts Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalize human-robot marriage. "Massachusetts is more liberal than most other jurisdictions in the United States and has been at the forefront of same-sex marriage," Levy said. "There's also a lot of high-tech research there at places like MIT."

Omnibot17u i-SOBOT: the World's Smallest Humanoid Robot

From the website

Japanese toymaker Tomy Company's 'Omnibot17u i-SOBOT', listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's smallest humanoid robot in production, dances during a news conference in Tokyo July 20, 2007. The 16.5 cm (6.496 inches)-tall robot, powered by Sanyo Electric's eneloop nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries, is able to talk about 180 vocabularies and has about 200 different types of action patterns. The robot will go on sale in Japan for a price of 29,800 yen (about $243), the company said.

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'Electronic Police' to Combat Suicide Attempts

In an effort to curb the number of suicides from Nanhu Bridge in the Chaoyang District of Changchun City, the Jilin authorities are soon to launch two ‘electronic police’ officers in the capital city.

Two "electronic police officers" containing video cameras will be used to patrol the Nanhu bridge where more than 20 people committed suicide each year.

The steel machines, painted to resemble a male and a female police officer, are expected to discourage troubled people from jumping from the bridge.

Each metal officer can spin around 360 degrees and has a special base meant to thwart would-be thieves or vandals. Reflector belts will provide identification at night.

The male machine stands 2 meters tall, the female 1.8 meters. They contain alarms, pinhole cameras and speakers so human police can communicate with people planning to suicide.

Source: CRI

Tags: china, jilin, electronic police, suicide

Japanese Robot Maker Invented Artificial Hand with "Air Muscles"

Kyoto-based robot and factory automation manufacturer Squse unveiled what it called the world's first prototype of an artificial hand with "air muscles"

The 400-gram hand with five human-sized fingers with artificial fibers that can be controlled by air pressure  can do even delicate work like picking up a raw egg.

The picture in the left shows the company's President Mikio Shimizu displays the portable robot hand and its artificial muscle, made of fiber and rubber, in Tokyo. link

Tags: robot, artificial hand, air muscles, japan, squse