MobilityRobot
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President Obama takes a minute to chat with our future robot overlords (video)
President Obama recently took some time out of the APEC Summit in Yokohama to meet with a few of Japan's finest automatons, and as always he was one cool cat. Our man didn't even blink when confronted with this happy-go-lucky HRP-4C fashion robot, was somewhat charmed by the Paro robotic seal, and more than eager to take a seat in one of Yamaha's personal transport robots. But who wouldn't be, right? See him in action after the break.
Toyota unveils violin-playing, personal transport robots
We can't say we totally understand the reason for unveiling a violin-playing robot alongside one that assists in personal mobility, but nevertheless, the aforementioned duo is indeed being trumpeted today by Toyota. The two bots are the newest members of the firm's Partner Robots, which are being developed "to support people's everyday life." As for the mobility machine, it enables individuals to take a seat while it rolls along uneven ground and navigates around obstacles, while the musician in the bunch is apparently being created to stroll into nursing homes / medical facilities in order to soothe and entertain patients. Reportedly, the outfit is hoping to have both of these units put to "practical use" by 2010, so if you're tired of overpaying that disgruntled pianist to sit around and play for your guests, unpaid help is on the way.[Via Yahoo / Reuters]