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Hiroshi Ishiguro's android mannequin creeps out Japanese shoppers (video)
If you didn't think mannequins were creepy enough already, maybe this will change your mind. In an attempt to lure shoppers, Japanese department store Takashimiya installed an eerily lifelike interactive robot for its Valentine's window display. The retailer called on robotics guru Hiroshi Ishiguro to provide the humanoid dummy, which can not only wink and yawn as people approach, but also display a range of emotions -- beyond boredom, indifference and oblivious content, we assume. While this was just part of the store's seasonal promotion, it might be a hint at where visual merchandise is going. Whether Ishiguro's model "model" will crossover into more professional roles like her sister, however, is unclear. Want to see that cheeky wink for yourself? Then hit up the video after the break.
Geminoid-F takes the stage for Japanese play
Japan's uncannily realistic robots have been creeping us out for years, but one was deemed emotive enough to have a stint on stage -- yesterday evening, Hiroshi Ishiguro's Geminoid-F made its debut in a Japanese play. It's a fairly small step for robotkind, really, as the android was completely controlled by a real-life human actress from a soundproof room behind the stage, and no attempt was made to pass off the robot as human, as Geminoid portrays a caretaker android assigned to a dying girl. Still, the possibilities must have Hollywood agents agape -- it's only a matter of time before the world's highest paid actors can literally phone in their lines.
Hiroshi Ishiguro creates his creepiest robot yet, the Telenoid R1 (video)
Sure, creating freakish humanoid clones is Hiroshi Ishiguro's primary hobby, but his latest work takes a couple steps outside the Uncanny Valley. The Telenoid R1 telepresence robot trades extremities for an androgynous doll-like body, which researchers at Osaka University and ATR describe as "soft and pleasant" but strikes us as something we'd see crawling out of the depths of hell on stump-like arms. (Perhaps Ishiguro was going for Casper the Friendly Ghost.) The $35,000 prototype transmits both the voice and head motions of a remote operator, allowing dutiful Japanese individuals to visit their elders via internet-equipped PCs, and a final version will actually go on sale later this year for around $8,000 should said elders agree with the latest in puffy white design. Watch a sample visit after the break.
Hiroshi Ishiguro's Geminoid-F humanoid mimics Earthlings, is definitely the beginning of the end (video)
Hiroshi Ishiguro (or his evil android twin, one) is back in business, and nearly four years after his Geminoid HI-1 startled youngsters everywhere, the Geminoid-F has arrived to consternate the grown-ups. Shown off this weekend in Osaka, Japan, the lifelike lady you see above (pictured left, just in case you were wondering) was designed to mimic human facial expressions that are fed in to its internal computer. The rubberized face has a rather insane amount of flexibility, enabling it to pull off subtle gestures that have thus far been impossible to replicate on a robot. Sly grins, angry glares and totally-fake smiles are all possible now, with developers hoping to have these in hospitals and the like in the not-too-distant future. Currently, copies of the humanoid are expected to sell for around ¥10,000,000 ($105,780), though it'll likely be robotics research organizations doing the majority of the buying. Hop on past the break for a video that's guaranteed to leave you stunned -- and while we're not fluent in Japanese, we're pretty sure someone asks if they "can rock that bad Larry on their dome."
Hiroshi Ishiguro builds his evil android twin: Geminoid HI-1
Seems like Hiroshi Ishiguro decided that if he's going to be a roboticist he might as well be a total badass about it, and has developed an "angry eyes" version of himself, the Geminoid HI-1. Other than a few Parent Trap inspired shenanigans we're sure he pulls on fellow researchers at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories near Kyoto, Ishiguro is mainly using the bot to teach his classes for him, and creep out students with lifelike movements such as blinking, "breathing" and fidgeting. The bot can be remotely controlled via a motion capture system that tracks Ishiguro's mouth movements and allows the bot to speak his voice -- or that of an assistant if he's feeling particularly listless. The incredible realism comes from silicone molds cast from Ishiguro's own body, similar to the process behind a certain female resident of the uncanny valley, and is a bit of an experiment in the viability of telepresence. Ishiguro wants to find out if he can really command the attention of a classroom with a mere robot doppelgänger, but we're sure he doesn't mind skipping that commute either.
