"I" robot coming to a train station near you...

...if you live in Japan, that is, where East Japan Railway Company is already testing a guide robot / impending doom machine innocuously dubbed "I." Before plotting to take over our mass transportation systems, the four-foot-tall "I" will help you on your way by displaying various information on its chest, reading your Suica card, and phoning a customer service rep if you need additional assistance. And despite appearances, the bot is fully mobile, able to motor throughout the station on its wheels and spin around in place. While its duties are fairly limited for now, the company says it could eventually work at customer service windows, assist other station workers, and even perform security patrols around stations -- along with serving as an attractive target for roving gangs of punks. C'mon, people. Robots and security? How many times do we have to warn you?

[Via Pink Tentacle]

[Shane @ Aug 29th 2006 3:37PM]

I for one...
No...I can't. I won't. Especially not on the first post.

[ChrisWray @ Aug 29th 2006 3:41PM]

If I lived in Japan, I would steal one of those.
There, I said it.

[the boss @ Aug 29th 2006 3:43PM]

I took a massive crap one day, and thought to myself.... "I wonder if robots will one day wipe our asses"

[Zeke @ Aug 29th 2006 4:02PM]

"I" Robot?
If this goes anything like the movie or book.... We're screwed.

[teeb @ Aug 29th 2006 4:11PM]

I, for one, welcome our information-displaying, Suica-card-reading, and customer-service-phoning robotic overlords.

[Patrick @ Aug 29th 2006 4:56PM]

it will phone customer service


to clean up your brains it just bashed out.

[Nathan M @ Aug 29th 2006 6:08PM]

Ha, it'll be hilarious when someone spray-paints over it's eyes. XD

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 29th 2006 6:21PM]

iRobot? isn't this motherf*cker a re-designed version of the Fujitsu ENON? Anyway back to the name issue., If i was at the board of executives at Twentieth Century Fox I'd make sure my attorneys shut that little R2D2 wanna-be down faster than you can say "Smell my lawsuit you racist yellow japs"

[Twiner @ Aug 29th 2006 6:50PM]

Fox doesn't have any power in Japan.
You have to remember, copywrite laws only work in countries that have them...
and if fox didn't take out a copywrite contract on irobot in japan then they can't press charges.

Additionally, fox doesn't really have any rights over I robot as it is still protected under Issac Asimovs(sp) copywright.
so yeah, you're biggoty racist comments are null and void

[Jenny @ Aug 29th 2006 10:43PM]

After you get tired of spray-painting them and watching them wander around.. sneak up behind another and lay it on it's back. So simple, yet so great to watch it squirm.

[blackfeather @ Aug 30th 2006 1:53PM]

Well, I for one, welcome I.