Bina48 is one humanoid robot you're going to want to hang out with
By Laura June 
posted July 12th 2010 11:47AM
posted July 12th 2010 11:47AM
The photo you see above is of Bina48, one of the most advanced humanoid robots around. Bina48 resides at the Terasem Movement Foundation in Bristol, Vermont, and while she doesn't exactly excel at conversation, she's far more coherent than many we've spied. Bina is a body-less robot modeled on a real Bina, who spent hours talking to the bot to give her human personality traits and vocabulary idiosyncrasies. While she often gives some pretty confounding responses, her existence and nearly constant evolution is pretty impressive and we're going to keep our eye on her as we move toward the future. Check out the video after the break.
The physical focus of this story is the animatronic head, but everything useful about this idea is in the back-and-forth dialog.
Amazing how the high percentage of responses here have to do with interacting with the LEAST impressive part of this technology, the dummy head and face.
A real question about how you would respond might better be approximated if you talked to Bina48 over the phone. And the commercial question might be along the lines of "Will Bina50 do a better job than the lame voice-interactive telephone gatekeeper programs being used today?"
It barely opens its mouth...
I thought my my ex-wife was the ugliest woman on the planet until now. At least this one has an "off" switch.
Looks kind of like James Earl Jones' Thulsa Doom mask from Conan.... right before they start stretching it out in his snake transformation.
I remember AI programs in the 90s that would hold and conversation pretty much as boring and pointless as this one: responding to questions with another question, taking one word you said and making genering remarks about its concept, and mixing with other unrelated remarks. This is not impressive at all, except for the fact that they had gone such a long way to replicate that ugly woman's face.
@ckeledjian
This one sounds just like A.L.I.C.E. Bot. And except for this ones name, it sounds just like it did 10 years ago.
http://www.alicebot.org/about.html
I always suspected Oprah was a robot.
@perpetual98
LMFAO!!!!! LMFAO!!!!!
Ya know
If text messaging cause people not to verbally interact with each other; what makes them think that folks will want to talk to a robot?
But it is cool thought. Stop trying to make them talk, sing and dance, and start trying to build them so they can build a moon base and space exploration. Why talk to a robo chick when I can talk to a real one. COME ON!
On the other hand; Outstanding job on the tech.
well..hell NO! not with this ugly looking metal ;D
I hope they at least programmed her to break in four years. It's how you keep the replicants from taking over...
@Aphus It's all well and good until it goes on a killing rampage in a search for "more life".
@dingus Hopefully we don't have to worry about that until they give her a torso and limbs...
Ok! I just found a reason for therapy.
I'm going to have a fucking nightmare to screw all other nightmares after seeing this shit.
Next on Bravo: The Real Housewives of Stepford.
"The real Bina couldn't be contacted"
Sounds like the real Bina is possibly offended by her robot doppelganger having a lazy eye that would put anyone asleep
@LiveFromThe215
Or maybe Robot Bina killed her.
Are we sure this isn't some dead drug addic they had stuffed?
"ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" *poof*
That's me plummeting down the uncanny valley.
that is one god damn ugly lookin robot
Looks kinda like A-Rod with a blonde wig.
http://www.topnews.in/files/Alex-Rodriguez.jpg
@CTMechE
Hmmm, my first thought was E.T. in a wig...
http://newnostalgia.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/et-looking-hot.jpg
Where's our robot apocalypse tag? How is the human race going to be able to remember all the warning signs if our internets aren't tagged properly?
Why on earth would I want to hang out with a human-crafted alien?
CREEP-Y.
@.@
This thing sucks. Nice sweater though.
Hey, why is she giving me the lazy stink eye?
Reminds me of Bishop in Alien 3.
This is scarry S***... take over the planet????
Pull the plug now!
Dude looks like a lady.
They would be hard pressed to make a her less attractive.
Watch out, tonight this thing will come after those left negtive comments on it at engadget.
Looks like Billy Dee Williams in a bad wig.
Bina "wants a life". YOUR LIFE!
My goodness... she's a tad hard on the eyes! Most of the bots we see coming out of the Asia have a very "doll like" appearance to them. This, however, reminds me of Grandma Tittle... *shiver*.
Jeebus!
long way till Cherry 2000
"Want a ZJ?"
This looks like a cutting-edge Bill Gates invention... Great idea, doesn't work, completely pointless.
In a world where there are just over 6.5 billion people, why on earth are we looking to create replicas? It's just like those Android devices... What is the point, when we already have iPhones?
Then again, I guess it's sometimes good to imitate.
I can see why the real Bina had nothing better to do than participate in this.
Wow... And I thought the Japanese conversational full-body gynoid was fake... this one make that look like a sex symbol!
And it has a lazy eye!
Can she make sandwiches?
Wow, some serious Uncanny Valley action going on there.
The future of robotics? Know I would say we have just seen a glimpse into the world of what humans will be like in terms of our vocabulary and ability to communicate with each other. Dull and in broken zombie like awkward rants. How many young kids actually talk on the phone instead of text? When computers are doing all the communicating/thinking for us, not only will we not have to do anything, we will not have to say anything as well. And anything that we might have to mumble will be like this robot. Imagine how far we would have come then! Progress! Not
it looks like whitney houston....
crack is wack!!!
......what the frack!!!! have we not seen battlestar galactica?!
It looks like they recreated a transvestite Jerry Springer guest.