As I walk through the valley of the uncanny....
...I will fear no automaton.
While most of the world works on purpose built robotics, such as the Big Dog project or various search and rescue bots, Japan boldly steps into the Uncanny Valley.
From the land that gave us Gundam Wing and the worlds first virtual pop star, comes robotics ripped right from the pages of science fiction.
There's Pepper, a robot who resembles a scaled down Rosie from the Jetsons, but is as yet little more than an expensive toy, and the truly uncanny robots being developed with the vision of being versatile, all around assistants. Japan is truly trailblazing the valley.
While most of the world works on purpose built robotics, such as the Big Dog project or various search and rescue bots, Japan boldly steps into the Uncanny Valley.
From the land that gave us Gundam Wing and the worlds first virtual pop star, comes robotics ripped right from the pages of science fiction.
There's Pepper, a robot who resembles a scaled down Rosie from the Jetsons, but is as yet little more than an expensive toy, and the truly uncanny robots being developed with the vision of being versatile, all around assistants. Japan is truly trailblazing the valley.
So it really is no surprise that the country is on the leading edge of robot technology, and a visit to the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, known as Miraikan (Future Hall) in Tokyo really drives home the point.While there is a long way to go before we start seeing Blade Runner quality androids running down the street. Japan has made amazing progress in the last few decades. As the advent of personalized, humanoid robots in the home inches closer to reality
Here, visitors can interact with ASIMO, the Honda-developed android that can run, perform tasks, and interact with people. Honda first unveiled ASIMO a decade ago, and even today it remains a futuristic vision of what robotics may one day hope to achieve on a consumer scale.
Miraikan also houses other, interactive automatons that show glimpses of what life might be like in 15, 20, or 30 years.
There's Otonaroid, who looks like a young Japanese woman with silicone skin, flowing hair, and blinking eyes.
And then there's Kodomoroid, an android newscaster that reads headlines to museum visitors, and Telenoid, a creepy-looking communication device that allows you to "speak" to friends or loved ones who are far away -- and feel as if you are sitting with them. You can hold and hug the Telenoid, and it hugs you back with its little stubs for arms.
From housework helpers which can ease the burden of a range of daily chores -- like Twenty-One, the multipurpose home care droid currently under development at Tokyo's Waseda University.
With a humanoid upper body and wheeled base, it boasts a dexterity and mobility that would be helpful in any number of tasks, including assisting the elderly.