July 27, 2005

My Girl Robot

I've always laughed when that line shows up in the credit card commercial about identity theft.

And I haven't been able to get it out of my head since seeing this story.

Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devised - a "female" android called Repliee Q1.

She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner.

She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe.

Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University says one day robots could fool us into believing they are human.

Repliee Q1 is not like any robot you will have seen before, at least outside of science-fiction movies.

She is designed to look human and although she can only sit at present, she has 31 actuators in her upper body, powered by a nearby air compressor, programmed to allow her to move like a human.

My girl robot -- indeed.

UPDATE: Dirty Harry, Tony B, and Kim DuToit have some related comments.

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July 11, 2005

One of the best "in your face" moments in film

Just caught a rerun of "Good Will Hunting" on A&E I believe it was. Despite star Matt Damon's affection for Gucci Marxists like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn (declared by Damon's character in the flick), the scene early on in the neighborhood bar where Damon's buddy Ben Affleck is being belittled by some Harvard jackass -- and then genius Damon butts in to counter-belittle the Harvard jackanape -- is priceless.

Posted by: Rhodey at 09:15 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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When A Typo Makes A Difference

Don't you hate it when stuff like this happens? This was the headline on a story that popped up on my homepage this afternoon.

DNC Fundraising Tops $28 So Far in 2005

Can YOU guess the typo?

Posted by: Greg at 07:49 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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