A Trip Through the Uncanny Valley

Check out this vid with Hiroshi Ishiguro with blatant suggestions toward the gaming and sex industry. I gotta love his lack of fear. 'Probably it will be more fun.'

I've been taking a writing class this semester and my final research paper is being published in serial form on my other blog, Munjeli Cookbook. The paper deals specifically with the superstitions in the Western traditions that inhibit the creation of androids in human form. I've come think after significant reading that the unease we have with humanoids in contrast to say, Japan, where developers are making dopplegangers of themselves, has to do with the deeply embedded Judeo-Christian mythology of the Golem. It seems in our traditions a man-made man never comes to good ends. Check out the series and let me know what you think in the comments.

Beyond the Uncanny Valley

Android Roundup: Joey Chaos

You gotta love Hanson Robotics: it's an art school hi-tech mashup creating ironically lifelike robots. Ironic because the thing people expect in a perfect robot is perception, yet it's something we rarely get out of another person. Joey Chaos' self centered ramblings seem more lifelike than any android searching for something appropriate to say. If you build a personality with a certain aspect of selfconciousness, like that hair, and the piercings, you can get away with less responsive or intelligent answers. Let me be specific: you can build a dumb blonde with a nice rack, and it'll seem more realistic than a nerdy Asian chick. One thing I think could have helped out Joey is more slang (though he's all over it in terms of 'cool' vocabulary) and some well placed vocal crutches such as 'like, man...'. But the well place 'Yo,' is an excellent start. He'd also fare better as a tenor I think, with a regional accent of some sort. Love the politics, nice touch.

Android Roundup: Repliee Q1

She's been around for a while, and just seems to keep getting better. Repliee Q1 is a Japanese humanoid robot that has made great strides in lifelike movement and expression. I was rather impressed with how fast she was moving in this video which is about a year old. While some people are always going to complain about the smoothness of her movements, there's definitely been improvement in her gestures and postures, and there are a few moments where she really hits her stride in this video.

Sex With Robots: When Not If.

I went to a new class today and as part of the discussion we were asked about potential topics for a research paper. When I mentioned I was interested in doing a paper about the emergence of androids in the sex industry it was news to some. It's funny how my media habit has got me seeing it as a done deal when others are completely in the dark. Writing a paper will at least give me an excuse for all of those creepy teledildonic links I've collected. Regarding the issue, I'm an optimist. After reading David Levy's book Love and Sex with Robots I've had time to adjust to the idea and do some research of my own. Stay tuned, I'll post more on the issue as I study it.

Snakebot! Bio-Robotics from Carnegie Mellon

Boing Boing posted this video today and I'm in love with the science. Animal locomotion is a peculiar study from both mechanical and evolutionary perspectives. The snakebot can not only climb but swim, which is an entirely different kind of motion if you've ever seen a snake in the water. It blew my mind to read that some bats can swim as well, using their wings as oars. Other aquatic bio-robotics include the jellyfish bots.

Robots + Jellyfish

At some point, I'm not a simple geek. I'm as interested in primitive life as high tech. Basically, this is my porn. The evolution of robotics is borrowing from simple life forms successfully, and in the process, the naive ideal of a machine man crashes and burns. If you could program eight legs, why would you bother with two? If I was a creator (creatrix, rather) I would make life not in my own image, but better.