Actroids go on sale in Japan, John Isidore not impressed
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted December 14th 2009 1:27PM
posted December 14th 2009 1:27PM
Alright, you already have a robot dancer, some robot housecats, and you even acquired a Roomba to protect your child from poisonous snakes -- what's next for your futuristic replicant menagerie? Starting in January 2010, the Japanese department store Sogo & Seibu will accept pre-orders for Actroid life-sized, animatronic female robots. Unlike some available models, these ones can't walk (or do a two-step, for that matter) but they will sit still and smile politely -- which might be all you really want in a robotic companion anyways. That's OK, we're not here to judge you. Quantities are extremely limited: only two will be sold, at a price of $225,000 each. Get a closer look after the break.
Update: One of our friends at Engadget Japanese has filled in a few more of the details: Apparently the robots will only be manufactured in the likeness of the purchaser, so if you were hoping that this would be a good way to get started on populating your own Hall of Presidents, it looks like you're out of luck. Unless, of course, you happen to have a strong resemblance to Chester A. Arthur.
Update: One of our friends at Engadget Japanese has filled in a few more of the details: Apparently the robots will only be manufactured in the likeness of the purchaser, so if you were hoping that this would be a good way to get started on populating your own Hall of Presidents, it looks like you're out of luck. Unless, of course, you happen to have a strong resemblance to Chester A. Arthur.
...and the uncanny valley just gets wider and deeper.
@NaJaKwa
I lol'ed, thanks.
@NaJaKwa
No, I think they've given up on getting past the uncanny valley. Instead they're just going to inundate us with robo-humans until we forget what we're supposed to look like.
@NaJaKwa: It doesn't need to be any wider or deeper for Japanese mens' penises.
Yeah, I went there.
@NaJaKwa
I dunno, I'd have to see a video... From just the stills, she seems to have about the right level of vacant glaze in her eyes to fit right in with the Hollywood crowd.
@NaJaKwa
Love you long time?
@NaJaKwa
I don't know what the model in the picture has to do with whatever an actroid is, but she is hot.
I call price-fixing shenanigans.
how long until there is a porno with one of them? 2-3....weeks
@Complex 1 day! Lol.
@CJ100570 It was already made in the office of the assembly plant.
2 Actroids 1...
You know what, I'm going to just stop thinking about this right now.
@Complex japan works fast, never underestimate japan.
@Complex
See Rule 34
@joshky
hmm...maybe about 10 years ago it was, not now, Japan's greatness is still there, just not as much as it was before. South Korea and China are pretty much the tour de force of where it's happening in Asia now, pretty soon the latter, will eclipse it's GDP by tenfold. Development-wise for cities, S Korea and especially China are the booming asian giants. Techwise, no doubt Japan is still the leader.
Nerd commenting on semi-hot asian chick
@Seven Hmm if you think that zombie looking robot is "semi-hot" you have bigger problems than being a nerd.
@MarcusMaximus
since i am a nerd, and she is asian, i automatically must think she's hot. It doesn't matter if she really is or not :)
@Seven
I'm probably gonna get bashed for this but, when i first saw the girl, i was aroused. lol
@domopod i up ranked u
It gets lonely out here...
@N900 there there.
@N900 Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur...
@loocas
Lazy kitty, pretty kitty, purr purr purr
I can see it now.
"Illegal androids are taking american jobs. We must deport them back to Japan."
if she could steal a $250,000 Bentley and drive it for me, it's worth the money.
They need get one of these to the guy that married the DS game "Love Plus" character earlier in the year.
WOW! that much for just a smile. That dam thing better be able to cook clean and bring me my beer. For half that much I cant go get me a real woman that don't do dam thing but has a added bonus, running her mouth.....
But it is cool though..
@305BuddyLuv
and what do you tell the ho with 2 black eyes?
@Streetfights
What do you tell her?
@Streetfights
Nothing, she has already been told twice :D
@tgluak
LMFAO!!!
Hell yeah...
Seeing this, I admit the Buffybot is farther off than ever. :-P
@"what's next for your futuristic replicant menagerie?"
Menagerie, meet menage-a-trois.
@Zapp I'd love it if the same guy bought both
Yeah and then they make them both look like him and he goes home and has 3 way sex with himself
Jesus christ in a robot...$225,000!?!?
Maybe if these were a little bit more advanced..
Honestly with the way computers are today, we definitely have the capability of developing a sentient android...but why?
@(Unverified)
If we have learned anything from movies, it's 2 things...you don't make vaccines that turn people into flesh eating zombies....and you don't develop sentient robots that will more likely than not enslave/destroy humanity.
@SnapCracklePop - actually, if we've learned anything it's that even if both of those scenarios come to pass we can count on Will Smith to save us all.
@(Unverified)
How much do you know about AI programming? We are still many many years away from creating anything close to being able to have the processing power needed for anything fully sentient, let alone be able to process sensory data enough to interact with the world in realtime.
@wyrdone
True, but don't you think we have the capability to make something more advanced than this product, even a little? My point is that the price on this is very outrageous for such a simple machine.
@wyrdone said: "We are still many many years away from creating anything close to being able to have the processing power needed for anything fully sentient"
Uhm? Sentience is not about having enough processing power.
For $225,000, I could hire a lot of Asian women to do the same thing for me as that robot, but with better and much more interesting functionality.
@jlan13
alot? at like 1000 a piece you could get 3 a weekend for a year and still have 100k left over.
@jlan13
for that amount, it'd be nice if she had lots of usb ports, lightspeed, displayport, and can act as a radio receiver, lift and clean around house, clean the pool, have some built in self-recharging capability, project video or 3D, and fly...
@BrianH Exactly.
there's a teddy ruxpin for sale on ebay for $25, it sits, smiles, and reads stories to you too!
Introduced a little too late to save Tiger Woods.
All wrong. The mouth must be in a fixed 'O' position.
@solarpos Dont worry, they just announced their partnership with the creators of fleshlight and real doll so that O face problem should be fixed any day now...