Toshiba's ApriAttenda makes for one cute kill-bot
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 13th 2009 1:22PM
posted March 13th 2009 1:22PM
As you're no doubt aware, it's the cute ones that can cause the most trouble. For instance, consider Toshiba's newest: ApriAttenda, pictured here at a press event at the company's lab in Kasawaki, Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo, is one meter tall, has three fingers and small CCD cameras in the palm of each hand, and can rise an additional 0.3 meters if the need should present itself. Sure, the device's ability to open refrigerator doors and lift boxes is impressive, but can we realistically believe that things will end there? Or does the permanently astonished look on its slightly Wall-E-esque visage disguise more sinister motives? You've been warned.
I'd hit it
Why? That bot's never done anything to you.
You've got the word "kill" in the headline, but no pic of Jason?
Or did I miss it?
It's WALL-E and EVE's child...except morbidly obese.
You may be too young for this, but it looks like Rosie from the Jetsons.
Sadly, like most children today...
You know you are quite right, add a center body cavity and there you go. Either that or a Robotic E.T.
Yea, but the what the heck are you going to do with a fat Wall-E?
Could someone please for the love of god photoshop in a bloody butcher's knife in the robot's hands?
For those not paying too much attention, the 'bot is on the **left**, and the CCD's are not that small. Look at those gigantic white boxes. Otherwise, very humanoid-like.
Anyone notice that the robot is taking things out of the fridge! That would explain the excess weight. But what happens when he runs out of food.... those cold ping pong ball eye's will show no mercy.
Where are the freaking lasers???
Where is Jason mask, Engadget?
Today is Friday 13th, remember?
I know right. Wake up Engadget!
http://tiny.cc/hDx8A
"and can rise an additional 0.3 meters if the need should present itself." O_o
PENIS! PENIS! PENIS!
I'd hit that robot too...right in it's cocky face, POW!
Zap Brannigan already solved the killbot problem.
Brannigan: "You see, killbots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men at them until they reached their limit and shut down."
Execute command: Ctrl, Alt, Kill.
sudo killall humanity
run killallhumans -exceptme
This must be a huge marketing tool in Japan, because as an American, when I see companies simultaneously saying they are in the red, but then building sophisticated (but not mass produced) toys, I become confused.
This reminds me of this:
http://www.gods-inc.de/macavity/IsleOfShadows/vehicles/ares-terminator1.jpg
Oh gawd... It'll eat us all!
I prefer the version on the left.
the robot looks surprised.
i don't know if anyone has noticed, but this post and the 2 below it all do not contain a link in the text of the article.
i find this kinda cool, because usually there is a link to something else in every article.
That robot from short circut sure did gain some weight!
Do you dare to not know and speak with the utmost respect and abject praise the name Johnny 5?
Just fantastic, Toshiba. You went ahead and gave opposable thumbs to the greatest threat to humanity since the plague.
This reminded me about the Honda ASIMO, which is doing a Honda tour, at lease as far as I can tell, at least the northeast (NY, NJ and PA):
http://www.viphonda.com/
http://www.tarrytownhonda.com/accords-frame.aspx
http://southhillshonda.com/accord-frame.aspx
And the ASIMO can conduct an orchestra!
Face it, she's gonna leave you for the robot.
Headline fix:
Toshiba's Product Model makes for one cute hot-bot
:)
but does it include lotus notes like wernstrom's?
cute, engadget..??? you think that thing is cute..??? that has got to be one of the creepiest looking robots i've seen... imagine sitting at home late at night, in a darkened living room, with nothing but the eerie blue glow of the tv to illuminate the room as you catch up on late night reruns of MST3K, a thin film of cheeto dust coating your fingers and face... and from a shadowy corner, you see two unblinking eyes staring at you silently, unmoving... watching.... learning.... waiting.... you think to yourself, "did i turn off apriattenda? i'm pretty sure i put it into power-down mode earlier this evening after it brought me that leftover chinese food... oh well, too tired to get up and check"... hours pass, you drift in and out of sleep... images and sounds flash through your brain in your half-asleep state of mind... a faint buzzing noise... beeping... joel and crow wisecracking in some weird sketch... large, white circular eyes staring at you... you suddenly snap awake... you could have sworn you heard the sound of something moving across the floor... you quickly scan the room, but see nothing out of the ordinary... but then... is it just your imagination, or is apriattenda a little closer than last time you looked..??? before you have a chance to dwell too much on this, joel yells an insult at crow, and your attention is drawn elsewhere... you chortle, and slowly drift back to sleep... the last sound you hear before your larynx is crushed by a powerful gripper arm is the unmistakable whirring of servo motors, and you briefly are able to open your eyes and find apriattenda's curiously shocked eyes staring back at you... perhaps it knows not what it does..??? perhaps it was just a short-circuit, or a random chip failure..?? perhaps it was just some error in the software..??
perhaps...
or maybe mankind should just get his own damn food from the fridge...
I, for one, welcome the opportunity to trip over our new robotic overlords.
Cute Robot says: "Box goes WHERE?!?!"
Wall-E was not the first robot to have round camera eyes.
Can anyone else see a "Short Circuit" remake after this thing is released........
this thing looks like a robot version of the hunchback of notre-dame
She thinks its trying to be helpful, but its really gauging her grip strength.
Kawasaki is not suburban Tokyo.