BladeZone's Off World Forums

Two links.

1. A Japanese firm has developed a mannequin robot that can strike a pose for customers - and spy on who they are and what they're buying.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_technology_story_skin/476728%3fformat=html

2. The teddy bear sitting in the corner of the child's room might look normal, until his head starts following the kid around using a face recognition program, perhaps also allowing a parent talk to the child through a special phone, or monitor the child via a camera and wireless Internet connection.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=545978&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Comments, anyone?

Yeah, I'll read 'em tomorrow and let you know..

Actually Centauro, this isn't aimed just at you, but perhaps we could get into the habit of posting a few lines to indicate what the articles are about? When I post article links I tend to post the article introduction in a quote box just to give the reader a 'flavour' before they jump off the link...

...just a suggestion.

Maybe someday there is going to be real replicants!!
COOL!

You're right. I was in a hurry when I posted that. Fixed.

Perfect - now they do sound interesting!

I found this story from NewScientist.com.
A software suite called GeneDesign should make it easier for scientist to study and modify DNA.

here's the direct link to the story

"The Pentagon predicts that robots will be a major fighting force in the U.S. military in less than a decade, hunting and killing enemies in combat. Robots are a crucial part of the Army's effort to rebuild itself as a 21st-century fighting force, and a $127 billion project called Future Combat Systems is the biggest military contract in U.S. history."

"Military planners say robot soldiers will think, see and react increasingly like humans. In the beginning, they will be remote-controlled, looking and acting like lethal toy trucks. As the technology develops, they may take many shapes. And as their intelligence grows, so will their autonomy."

"While some may have moral reservations about unleashing killer robots, it may be financial considerations that determine the final decision."

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=6451




---Not really news anymore, but just another article on this vital subject.

S. Korean scientists want android to walk
Mar 23, 2007

SEOUL (UPI) -- South Korean scientists are trying to develop a walking android without making its legs so thick that it would no longer look like a human.

"It is relatively easy to make humanoids walk because they don't have to resemble humans, but things are different for androids intended to look human," a researcher at the Korean Institute of Technology told the Korea Times.

EveR-2, nicknamed Muse, is technically a gynoid, an android designed to look like a young Korean woman. Last year, EveR-2 demonstrated an ability to sing.

Researchers are split on how quickly a walking android can be developed. Institute researchers hope for victory this year or next, but other scientists say that walking could be a decade or more away.

Oh Jun-ho of the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology made the first humanoid to move with a natural gait, Hubo.

"Humanoid researchers tend to think it is not a big deal to make a robot walk. In fact, it is a big deal,'' he said.


Copyright 2007 by United Press International