Nuvo: the charming, mild-mannered robotic overlord
posted July 14th 2005 5:30AM
Chances are, ZMP's Nuvo humanoid robot isn't about to become a fixture in the average household at its $5K+ pricetag. Still, the dream of the home companion/household chore robot (Rosie, where art thou!) has been around for a while, and the NYTimes' Mark Allen got some insight into the fascination after spending four days with little 15-inch Nuvo. There's no escaping the anthropomorphization one naturally does with these things, which is precisely what Allen found valuable in the experience — after the four-day visit he reported feeling "oddly alone." It wasn't so much the functionality or helpfulness of the robot that was compelling, but its companionship was a hit in a big and quirky way. The article is a fun read, and a thought-provoking look down the road of human and machine interactions.
The article reminds me of the time I lost my remote for my DVD player, for two days I sat around moping thinking that for the rest of my life I would have to use the TV remote to play DVDs (they're both Sony)and when I finally found that remote (in my school bag for some reason!) I felt a bond between man and machine that I would perhaps never feel again.
Is it just me or is the a: robotic overlord and b: the disclaimer-bits getting a wee bit old?
Ok, if you watch the video, at the end the robot does a perfect "Danger! Danger!"
For that alone it's cool.
#2
No! We must warn everyone of the Robotic Overlords! Its our only hope!!
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"anthropomorphization"....Thats a mighty big word...Is someone compensating for something?
Ok wow. This looks *very* similar to one of Miyazaki's robots from Laputa from the movie Castle in the Sky. Some pics:
http://store1.yimg.com/I/animebooks-com_1855_2728406
http://www.tautoz.com/ghiblimuseum/
http://japan.fjordaan.net/03_ghibli.html (scroll down for the pics)