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Reminded of this article in The Economist: https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2013/03/09/your-alter-ego-on-wheels https://www.economist.com/technolo
by davidw 7y ago
Reminded of this article in The Economist: https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2013/03/09/your-alter-ego-on-wheels https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2013/03/09/yo...
With this hilarious closing paragraph:
> A telepresence robot sheathed in rubbery skin is being sold to researchers by Japan’s Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International. Resembling an androgynous and legless child with short, handless arms, Telenoid, as it is called, is essentially a large humanoid phone. The idea is that lonely grandparents “feel the human presence” of relatives who speak through it while remotely moving its head and other body parts, says the project’s leader, Hiroshi Ishiguro. But this creepy robot is unlikely to catch on outside Japan, says Timo Kaerlein, a German researcher who studied Telenoid on a visit to Kyoto. One observer described it as a nightmarish, fetus-like “demon-spawn”. By comparison, having your disembodied boss drive up to your desk for a quick chat seems reassuringly normal.
- stronglikedan 7y agoI was curious what it looked like, so did some digging and turned up this: https://www.engadget.com/2010/08/02/hiroshi-ishiguro-creates-his-creepiest-robot-yet-the-telenoid-r/ https://www.engadget.com/2010/08/02/hiroshi-ishiguro-creates... Creepy indeed.
- delecti 7y agoWithout subscribing I can't see the paragraph you copied, so I can't tell if there's an image with it, but there needs to be. I thought surely "nightmarish, fetus-like “demon-spawn”" was hyperbole. It is not. https://www.google.com/search?q=Telenoid&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ACYBGNRJRQia246jegTHfcveEWe70cZg5A:1570820611877&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSnc7k8pTlAhUNs54KHa7RDVUQ_AUIESgB&biw=1812&bih=984 https://www.google.com/search?q=Telenoid&client=firefox-b-1-...
- davidw 7y agoAnd the videos are even worse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7t4uczfbZY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7t4uczfbZY I would not be surprised to see it attack someone and then Bruce Campbell pops out and slices it up with his chainsaw.