We've
witnessed our fair share of Robovies, and let's just say we've a healthy fear of 'em. That being said, we're fairly certain we'd come darn close to fainting or reacting violently should the creature pictured above approach us
while shopping ever. Nevertheless, this humanoid is apparently allowed to run amok at Universal Citywalk Osaka as the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute tests out its ability to interpret signals from cameras, sensors and RFID readers and determine which patrons are thoroughly lost. When it recognizes a stumped individual, it wheels over, confirms their state of confusion and politely offers directions to their destination of choice. Still, tell us you could seriously look down at those eyes and not completely forget where you were trying to go -- we triple-dog dare you.
[Via
Tech Digest]
posted Jan 26th 2008 1:08PM
It's gazing into my soul
*whimper*
You know what, you guys... I think the final version of that bot's actually supposed to have hemispherical dark plastic lenses over the cameras (it looks like that's what the orb-shaped camera housings are built for).
So then he's got big, mildly unnerving puppy-dog eyes instead of extremely unnerving terminator eyes.
See, I'm just not sure how that would really "help" anybody. If you're lost, you are going to be on edge. The last think you need is a scary ass robot trying to help you out.
Taylor
http://taylorwilsdon.com
See, now I really wanted to vote you up. But you had to go and do it, didn't you.
Funny comment = +1
Advertising =-2
Funny comment + advertising = -1 = low rank.
I bet the Japanese find robots and being lost in large areas incredibly nerve-wracking.
Now who would help lost robots then?
holy crap.....i would freak out and run out of the mall if i saw that thing coming towards me
"AHHH! wtf are you?!"
"Hello lost patron, how may I help you?"
"Wha? Ohh Well Um... CAn you tell me where the bathroom is? I need to go BADLY!"
"I'm sorry, please repeat your destination."
"BATHROOM PLEASE!"
"I'm sorry, please repeat your destination."
"TELL ME WHERE THE BATHROOM IS! I GOTTA GO!"
"I'm sorry, please repeat your destination."
"Fucking piece of junk"
"I'm sorry, please repeat your destination."
*kicks it on the ground and leaves*
if its head isnt always on a tilt like that it might not be as creepy but the lack of mouth or sense of emotion sure doesn't help.
I for one welcome our mall monitoring robot friend to........wait maybe not! ^_^
Though that one up all by yourself, eh?
Um........No
i can already hear my kids crying, running scared
Holy crap that's creepy.
Big-ass eyes - Check
Now just add some fur, ears and a tail and its all gonna be just jolly.
Looks like Quagmire.... Gigidy
Yeah. Imagine the little creep turning up in the lady's room...
"May I assist you?... ;-)... gigiddy... "
Or popping its creepy little head under the toilet's door...
Why do I expect this robot to threaten to clamp me? He really reminds me of clamps from futurama.
The mall therapist is ready to see Timmy now.
WARNING: Keep mirror away from robot.
He's not scary he looks sad. :(
I think it's adorable... I don't understand why everyone is freaked out by it. It looks like it's got big soulful eyes and would be incredibly helpful to lost and confused shoppers. I would rather have a robot like that approach me than one that looks more like a human. Feel free to place it in any of the malls I walk into. Adorable! Not scary, perverted, or any thing negative. It would be a great help to tourists or people who don't normally go to malls.
LOVE it!
Why not simply have an Information desk where people can voluntarily go, rather than continue this obsession with surveilance and loss of privacy and choice?
what if they can't find the information desk
I'm sure there are info desks, too.
Also, you don't have any right to privacy in a public place. Don't go out if you don't want to be seen. And go someplace else with your alarmist rhetoric, please.
I don't think the actual desired outcome of this is to help lost people, I think it is quite clearly an exercise in testing their sensor array and collecting and collating data to perfect it. The helpful mall bot is a means to an end so maybe people should start looking at it like that. Frankly the research is kinda cool, a little scary but mostly cool.
As if people in the malls weren't already being hearded like sheep...
The most likely extremely large price tag would definitely be worth it just to see people's reactions.
I would smite it with my plasma cannon should it chance an encounter. cheerio
there are probebly supposed to be tinted lenses in the eye sockets to hide the cameras, that would be a lot less creepy
I wonder how many people are lost because they ran willy-nilly to get away from that thing.
Can I help you find your destination?
Anywhere to get away from you!
I'm sorry Dave, but I'm everywhere.
My name isn't Dave!
I'm sorry Dave, I must eliminate you now so no one ever finds out that I was ever wrong.
*Ulta-sonic shriek*
*Silence*
as long as the apple store by me wont have one of these things, I will be fine going to the mall, but will scream if i see this thing just rolling around
I wonder how many people are lost because they ran willy-nilly to get away from that thing.
Can I help you find your destination?
Anywhere to get away from you!
I'm sorry Dave, but I'm everywhere.
My name isn't Dave!
I'm sorry Dave, I must eliminate you now so no one ever finds out that I was ever wrong.
*Ulta-sonic shriek*
*Silence*
Please please please hire a living person to do this. There are unemployed, undernourished, homeless folk that could do this job better.
Yeah, 'cause THAT wouldn't be scarier than a robot.
Homeless people can be scary. Very Scary. At least a robot has the 3 laws built in (I hope). A homeless person has a good chance of being insane too. Not everybody that is homeless became that way due to financial troubles.
I was about 13 years old walking to school and there was an underpass underneath the freeway. The middle of it almost gets pitch black in the morning and all you can see is the end of the tunnel about 50 feet away. I had a bag of microwave popcorn for breakfast with me and I as attacked by a homeless woman. Just came out of nowhere from the sides layered with a couple dozen sweatshirts and really long scraggly hair. She looked like that insane muppet from Dark Crystal. She took the bag of popcorn from me and started eating it.
She was polite though, she said thank you before she disappeared into the darkness.
Has it occured to you that if she was on the street she was probably poor. And if she was poor she might not be able to afford food. And therefore was starving. If I was starving I would steal your food too.
it looks like some kind of creepy 3rd party mac thing
I always have a lost and confused expression on my face. Does that mean this robot will follow me around 24/7?
They need to give up on making humanoid robots for a while. It just looks wrong. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I'd rather interact with something that looks like Wall-E or R2-D2 than this monstrosity.
It's the 'uncanny valley' they need to get over...
Robot: Excuse me, can I help you?
Me: *WHILE TURNING AROUND* Yeah, I need to know...WHAT THE HELL???!!!
All that effort and they couldn't make the lenses glow red? I mean, if you're going to freak out mall-walkers, you should go all-out.
Such a wasted opportunity...
DELETE, DELETE, DELETE!
Don't you mean Ctrl+Alt+Delete
Has a nice nose.
Not one D-Day reference in the comments??? What's the world coming to...
SECOND REQUEST: PRESENT HALL PASS
*In the voice of ED-209*
"....you have ten seconds to comply..."
Will be able this robot to also prepare the supper, please?