Meet the robot who plays piano faster than any human - mind you, he does have 19 fingers

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Meet Teotronico. 
He's really good at playing the piano - but then he does have 19 fingers.

Robotic hand technology is evolving rapidly and Teotronico's extra digits enable him to play the piano faster than any human could.

He can also sing and accompany himself on the drum and judge how well his musical ability is going down with the punters.

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Play it again Sam: He may look like something out of a Tim Burton movie, but Teotronico is really good at playing piano

...Of course this could be down to him having 19 fingers, which inventor, Matteo Suzzi, left, says is the perfect number to cover any melody or song and play faster than a human

Teotronico is the only robot in the world able to do all those things at the same time.
Inventor Matteo Suzzi says the robot has 19 fingers because it is the perfect number to cover any melody or song. He also plays faster than any human.


The rhythmic bot can even distinguish between the speed of key change and play various notes together.

He also has video cameras installed in his eyes which allow him to 'see' and interact with those around him.

Matteo, from Imola, Italy said Teotronica cost over £3000 and took over four years to create.

The 34-year-old said: 'I've always had a passion for robots and robotics. I was really excited when I discovered you could create an independent robot that could play any
tune or composition.

'Having 19 fingers gives the robot a better execution speed, making him faster than a human.

'His left hand covers the lower notes, the right hand covers the melodic line and he has an extra finger on the left hand.

'He is a great pianist because he has almost double the number of fingers that a human has and he can provide greater pressure to the keys.

'He sings recorded files in his system and uses speech recognition and facial expressions to interact with his audience.

'He's performed at a number of private parties and is a hit with the guests. We're hoping he can revolutionise the music industry.'

Let me entertain you: Teotronica cost over £3,000 and took over four years to create

Hand-hacking lets you pluck strings like a musical pro

From: http://www.newscientist.com/

Video: Hand-hacking helps budding musicians

WANT to learn a musical instrument, but can't find the time to practise? A device now under development can take control of your hand and teach you how to play a tune. No spirits of dead musicians are involved.

PossessedHand, being developed jointly by the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Sony Computer Science Laboratories, also in Tokyo, electrically stimulates the muscles in the forearm that move your fingers. A belt worn around that part of the subject's arm contains 28 electrode pads, which flex the joints between the three bones of each finger and the two bones of the thumb, and provide two wrist movements. Users were able to sense the movement of their hands that this produced, even with their eyes closed. "The user's fingers are controlled without the user's mind," explains Emi Tamaki of the University of Tokyo, who led the research.

Devices that stimulate people's fingers have been made before, but they used electrodes embedded in the skin, which are invasive, or glove-like devices that make it hard to manipulate an object. Tamaki claims that her device is far more comfortable. "The electric stimulations are similar to low-frequency massage stimulations that are commonly used," she says.

Having successfully hijacked a hand, the researchers tried to teach it how to play the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. Koto players wear different picks on three fingers, but pluck the strings with all five fingertips, so each finger produces a distinctive sound. A koto score tells players which fingers should be moved and when, and from this Tamaki and her team were able to generate instructions telling their device how and when to stimulate the wearer's muscles.

PossessedHand does not generate enough force to pluck the koto strings, but it could help novice players by teaching them the correct finger movements. Tamaki and her team found that two beginner players made a total of four timing errors when using PossessedHand, compared with 13 when playing unassisted. After prompting from the device, the players also made one less mistake about which finger to use.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the players found it unsettling to have the device move their hand by itself. "I felt like my body was hacked," said one. Tamaki is confident that people will get used to the idea once they see how useful it can be: "We believe convenient technology will overcome a feeling of fear."

As well as helping would-be musicians, PossessedHand could be used to rehabilitate people who have suffered a stroke or other injury that impairs muscle control. Therapists already use electrical muscle stimulation to help these people, but existing non-invasive devices can only achieve crude movements such as contracting the entire arm.

Henrik Gollee, who researches rehabilitation devices at the University of Glasgow, UK, says PossessedHand could help patients train a wider range of movements. "I was surprised by the level of fine movement they can actually achieve," he says.

Simon Holland, director of the Music Computing Lab at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, points out that there is a big difference between learning to play one song and being a competent musician. "You might learn a fingering and be able to reproduce that performance, without necessarily being able to perform simple variants," he says.

Amputee Patrick demonstrates his new bionic hand

Last year, Patrick, a 24-year-old Austrian, decided to have his dysfunctional hand amputated and replaced with a bionic hand. He lost the use of his left hand after being electrocuted at work.

Here he demonstrates the extra movement his new bionic hand has given him, opening a bottle and tying his shoelaces, and tests a prototype hand which will give him additional wrist movement.

Robot Replicants Gather With Their Originals In World’s Creepiest Reunion (video)

by Aaron Saenz

from http://singularityhub.com/

Meet the Geminoids and their human counterparts. Can you tell which is which?

There are only a handful of people in the world who can say they have a robotic clone of themselves, and most of them just got together in Japan. ATR’s facilities in Nara hosted a bizarre reunion at the end of March as three Geminoid robot replicants and their originals met for a press conference and photo shoot. The first clone was modeled after its creator, Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University, another bot is a copy of an unnamed Japanese woman, and the latest is a dead-ringer for Henrik Sharfe of Aalborg University in Denmark. Watch all six of these ‘people’ converse and interact in the video below, followed by some more great pics. Looking at the progression from the oldest (the Ishiguro-bot) to the newest (Sharfe-bot) it’s clear that the Geminoids are getting better…and relatively quickly too. It may only be a matter of a few years until these replicants look human enough to pass as one of us.

Ishiguro first demonstrated his robot clone (Geminoid HI-1) back in 2006, the female version (Geminoid F) arrived in early 2010, and Sharfe’s clone was ordered in 2010 but took six months to create (and reportedly cost $200k). Geminoid DK (as it is called) arrived early this year. While all have very similar pneumatically driven systems that are remote controlled by human users, Geminoid DK appears much more life-like. Perhaps it’s the facial hair covering some of the imperfections, but in any case it really comes close to bridging the Uncanny Valley…as long as it’s sitting still. Here is a video of Geminoid DK’s movements that was released after our previous coverage came out. This clip really showcases the life-like and creepy motions of the robot:

While Ishiguro continues to improve his Geminoid creations (in association with ATR and produced by Kokoro) Sharfe is aimed at studying how humans will accept/interact with them. This little Geminoid summit then represents the two halves of human-like robotics research: technical and social. Undoubtedly the next Geminoid that Ishiguro and his team creates will be even more realistic, perhaps able to show its teeth without causing my hackles to rise. In the meantime, Sharfe and colleagues may be able to explain to us what humanity really can expect from its upcoming future full of robotic clones. I suspect that no matter how human-like these bots will appear, we won’t fully accept them until they have human-like personalities as well.
Quick, someone make a Geminoid of a prominent AI researcher and bring them into the fold!

Sometimes I really get the willies when I think Geminoid HI-1 is looking at me. To be fair, I get the same feeling when I think Ishiguro is looking at me, too.

The improvements that ATR/Kokoro/Ishiguro have made since 2006 are so clear. Geminoid DK (right) wins the human look alike contest hands down.

This is my favorite photo from the event because when you focus on Ishiguro, you forget that the two people on either side of him aren't really people at all.

[image and video credits: Geminoid DK]

[source: Geminoid DK (Facebook page)]

NASA's humanoid robot unveiled on space station

From: http://news.yahoo.com/

AP – In this March 15, 2011 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Scott Kelly, Expedition 26 commander, right, …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The first humanoid robot ever launched into space is finally free.

Astronauts at the International Space Station unpacked Robonaut on Tuesday, 2 1/2 weeks after its arrival via shuttle Discovery. NASA broadcast the humorous unveiling ceremony Wednesday.

American Catherine Coleman and Italian Paolo Nespoli pried off the lid of the robot's packing box, as though they were opening a coffin. TV cameras showed lots of foam inside, but no robot.

"It's like unearthing a mummy," radioed a payload controller at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

"Well, at least the mummy would be here," Coleman replied. "We just have an empty box where Robonaut is supposed to be."

Robonaut — also known as R2 — was spotted a minute later in front of a work station.

"I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our crew," Coleman said. "We're going to see what Robonaut can do."

The payload controller asked if R2 was related to HAL, the sinister computer with artificial intelligence from the 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"Since we found him already controlling the space station, we're sure that he is related to HAL. But we'll see," Coleman said.

In a Twitter update, R2 announced: "Check me out. I'm in space!" A NASA employee on the ground posted the tweet.

Nespoli attached NASA's waist-high R2 to a fixed pedestal, where it will remain with its fists clenched and its arms folded against its chest until testing begins in May. The robotic team at Johnson Space Center in Houston wants to see how R2 performs in weightlessness. The robot is intended as an astronaut helper, inside the space station, in the decade ahead.

Legs should arrive next year.

R2's earthbound twin spent Wednesday at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, performing demonstrations for children.

___

Online:

NASA: http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/default.asp

Restaurant With Robot Waiters Opens In China!

By Edwin Goei,

From: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2010/12/restaurant_with_robot_waiters.php

At Dalu Robot Restaurant, a hot pot joint in China, you'll never have to tip the server or worry that he sneezed into your soup. The new eatery, which is coincidentally owned by a man who also heads up a robotics firm, is using C3PO-like bicycling robots to serve its customers. A few others look like R2D2, running along tracks.

But if you're expecting 4-star restaurant treatment, these aren't the droids you're looking for. They don't serve you so much as just stop long enough so that you can pluck off what you ordered from a tray.



Another video after the jump!


The restaurant also has creepy-looking humanoid robots that are made to dance and entertain. Since these haven't yet traipsed pass the "uncanny valley", they aren't exactly as charming as Summer Glau.
Still, the whole thing sounds a lot more sanitary than these monkey waiters (see below).

gg

Robonaut 2 en route to International Space Station

• By: Jeffrey Van Camp
• From: http://www.digitaltrends.com/
  

NASA and GM have finished the Robonaut 2, a robot designed to assist astronauts on the International Space Station. It will launch Nov. 1.

Robonaut 2, or R2, is packed and ready to launch into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery on Nov. 1. The humanoid robot, or android, will assist astronauts aboard the International Space Station. It is not known precisely what tasks R2 will perform, but it is designed with “advanced control, sensor, and vision technologies.” Sounds useful enough.

The robot is a collaboration between NASA and General Motors, which began in 2007. Workers from NASA and GM spent the last few years at the Johnson Space Center in Houston building the robot.

“One of GM’s core goals is to lead in advanced technology and quality,” said Alan Taub, GM’s vice president of Global Research and Development. ”This partnership and the development of R2 are providing us with innovative technologies that will help us achieve these goals in both our future products and plants.”

GM believes that the advancements made in sensor capabilities will help the company improve safety in future vehicles. Already, several GM vehicles offer crash avoidance features that use sensors to warn of incoming danger and help drivers parallel park. In addition, some of the advancements in robotic hand dexterity could help GM design better manufacturing plants.

The original Robonaut was built by NASA and DARPA about ten years ago, and designed for space travel. NASA and GM have been working together since the 1960s, when the two collaborated on navigation systems for the original Apollo missions. GM helped develop the Lunar Rover.

Though strange looking, Robonaut 2 is undoubtedly a more constructive use of advanced technology than this pleasurable robot.

Hiroshi Ishiguro creates his creepiest robot yet, the Telenoid R1

By Sean Hollister
From http://www.engadget.com/

289diggsdigg 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.

IEEE Spectrum

Japan Hosts World's First Wedding Led by Robot

Jay Alabaster

AP
From: http://www.aolnews.com/

TOKYO (May 16) -- Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

The nuptials at this ceremony were led by "I-Fairy," a 4-foot tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. Sunday's wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co.

"Please lift the bride's veil," the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of about 50 guests.

The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, where the I-Fairy wore a wreath of flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet away, where a man crouched and clicked commands into a computer.

Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with the government actively supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard, but recently Japanese companies are making a push to inject robots into everyday life.

Honda makes a walking child-shaped robot, and other firms have developed them to entertain the elderly or play baseball. Kokoro, whose corporate goal is to "touch the hearts of the people," also makes giant dinosaur robots for exhibitions and lifelike android models that can smile and laugh. The company is a subsidiary of Sanrio Co., which owns the rights to Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters.

"This was a lot of fun. I think that Japanese have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots near them that serve some purpose," said bride Satoko Inoue, 36, who works at manufacturer Kokoro.

"It would be nice if the robot was a bit more clever, but she is very good at expressing herself," said new husband Tomohiro Shibata, 42, a professor of robotics at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in central Japan.

The I-Fairy sells for about 6.3 million yen ($68,000) and three are in use in Singapore, the U.S. and Japan, according to company spokeswoman Kayako Kido. It has 18 degrees of motion in its arms, and mainly repeats preprogrammed movements and sounds.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

ISS to get 'Man Cave' Complete with Robot Butler

Written by Nancy Atkinson

From http://www.universetoday.com/

Cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko floats inside Leonardo during its first flight to the ISS. Leonardo will become a permanant module later in 2010. Credit: NASA

There might be a new favorite hang-out for astronauts aboard the International Space Station later this year. The Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) known as Leonardo – which will be going to the ISS on the upcoming STS-131 mission carrying cargo and supplies — will be transformed after the mission into a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM), and brought up to stay on the station on STS-133 as a storeroom for supplies. But it might also become a haven to get away from it all.

"The thought is, the PMM might become sort of a 'man cave'," said Mike Kinslow, the Boeing payload manager out at Kennedy Space Center. "It won't have all the background noise of fans, computers and other equipment running like in the laboratories, so it will be a quieter atmosphere that might appeal to the astronauts during their off-duty hours."

No plans for a big screen TV Kinslow said, but there will be ports for computers, and since internet is now available on the ISS, Leonardo could be the location of choice to compose emails to loved ones back home, or do a little Twittering.

Another interesting piece of hardware scheduled to fly on the PMM is the Robonaut 2, NASA's second generation of dexterous robots with a human-like torso that can work with tools and one day are envisioned to be able to do EVA work outside the ISS. But for now, R2 will be tested inside the station in zero-g. "It will be used on orbit for routine maintenance indoors only." said Kinslow, "This is not an external unit."

It has a "head" with a vision system, with hands that can do work, controlled by virtual-reality-like operation. Any chance R2 could be programmed to serve drinks or bring food into the man cave?

See our article on how General Motors is going to use R2 for manufacturing cars.

Turning Leonardo into a permanent module will take some work, said NASA Payload Manager Joe Delai. "Once it returns from this flight we will beef up the external shield and change things internally to become a permanent module. It will be about a four month process to get it ready."

Leonard being attached to the ISS on a previous mission. Credit: NASA TV

The MPLMs were built in Italy, but are owned by the U.S. and provided in exchange for Italian access to U.S. research time on the Station. Four modules were built; three flew to the ISS. STS-131 will be Leonardo's seventh trip to space.

Kinslow said shields for an MPLM are lighter weight because they are only meant to be on orbit for 2 weeks at a time. "Leonardo will be plated with a multilevel Kevlar blanket, the same type of exterior shielding other modules have, which is similar to armor plating, to protect against meteorite or debris impact. Internally, not a lot of changes will be made," he said. "It already has a ventilation system like a normal module, but will need a computer system and a few other additions."

Leonardo won't be outfitted with a sleep station or crew quarters because it might be in a more vulnerable position for radiation or debris hits. "They don't really want crew to get in and sleep because of the shielding," Kinslow said. "It will be a storage module, and we're discussing putting exercise equipment in there."

The PMM will be berthed on the Node 1 nadir, or Earth-facing port. Leonardo measures about 6.5 meters (21 feet) long and 4.5 meters (15 feet) in diameter.

STS-131 is currently scheduled for an April 5 launch, and STS-133 is shooting for a September 2010 launch.

Just a note on the ISS internet: T.J. Creamer, who is on board the station now told Universe Today that they aren't able to have streaming video or download large files. "In terms of download speeds – you know, back in the old days, it kind of compares to 9.6 and the 14.4 kilobyte modems, so it's not really fast enough to do large file exchange or videos, but it certainly lets us to do browsing and the fun reading we want to do, or get caught up on current events on that day. It's a nice outreach for us, and of course you've heard about the Twittering which is a nice feature that we can partake in also."

Inventor unveils $7,000 talking sex robot

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The science of 'Surrogates'

by Alan Boyle

Touchstone Pictures

Click for video: A lifelike face is installed on a robot in a scene from "Surrogates." Click on the image to watch a video about the trends behind the film.

Bruce Willis' latest action movie takes place in a world where humans mostly stay behind closed doors and interact using lifelike cyber-substitutes. These robotic "surrogates" pass along all their sensations - during work, play and even sex - via virtual reality. In this wired-up world, you can be anybody you want to be through your surrogate: a healthier, younger version of yourself, or a super-athlete, or a supermodel. (Will that be male or female?)

So "Surrogates" is meant as pure science fiction, right? Wrong. The filmmakers and futurists behind the movie say they're aiming for an only slightly enhanced version of present-day trends.

"In the near future, robots are going to start to look like humans," said James Canton, founder of the San Francisco-based Institute for Global Futures. "I think within 10 years you're going to have the world of the surrogates."

You don't even have to wait 10 years to experience the kind of virtual life that eventually goes so wrong in "Surrogates," said the film's director, "Terminator 3" veteran Jonathan Mostow.

"Right now on the Internet you can go and you can shop, talk with your friends, get the news. You can express your opinion. You can pretty much live a full human life without ever leaving your home," Mostow told me.

Not that the movie is a Michael Moore-ish diatribe against the Twitterpated lives that many of us lead nowadays. Like most folks in Hollywood, Mostow recognizes that the film will not fly unless it's the entertaining, thrill-a-minute action ride theatergoers expect from a Bruce Willis movie. But he also means it to be something more.

"We do know just from the test audiences who have seen the movie that people are finding it very thought-provoking," Mostow said. "It's a little bit different from your typical Hollywood thriller."

How is it different? Here's an explanation from Canton, who helped out on the film project: " 'Surrogates' is clearly a near-future vision when you mash up nanotechnology, and of course computing, robotics and the advances in materials science. All these technologies are converging so quickly, and that convergence is what 'Surrogates' covers so well, without getting into the details."

If you want to delve into the real-life details, you can look at the research being conducted in Japan to create sociable robots suited to serve the country's aging population. More signs of change can be seen on far-off battlefields, where the military is using surrogates ranging from bomb-defusing robots to bomb-dropping drones.

Other trends include the rise of online worlds such as "Second Life," where users guide avatars through activities ranging from cyber-boinking to virtual commerce to the same headaches people experience in real life. Then there's the milieu created by Twitter, Facebook and other online networks. Researchers say the personal interactions on social-networking sites can be just as complicated - and occasionally just as boring - as real life.

Canton said he's already caught glimpses of the road ahead. Imagine, for instance, an extension of the force-feedback technology currently used to make video-game controllers shake and kick back in your hands. "I can tell you I've seen work in the labs that take force-feedback and make it totally sensory and cognitive," he told me.

Like his fellow futurist Ray Kurzweil, Canton believes the time is fast approaching when machines will be more intelligent than natural-born humans - part of a phenomenon that Kurzweil dubbed "the singularity." But Canton thinks the age of the surrogates - a society in which machines are used as extensions of human capabilities rather than self-actuating entities - will come well before the singularity.

Baby-boom demographics could accelerate the current trend, he said.

"It's likely that one of the key areas will be memory loss due to Alzheimer's," Canton told me. "Well before we have drugs to mediate memory loss, people will have both cloud-computing and wetware implants to help them with retrieving information. You're going to see this emerge much quicker, and it's going to be driven by baby boomers and baby-boomer economics."

Canton isn't saying that the approach of the singularity - or the surrogates - will be totally a good thing. In fact, that's what the movie is all about. He said the Bruce Willis character "is challenged by a world that has been so dominated by these surrogates that the level of authenticity and humanness has been modified or even mutated."

"That's the big challenge," he said. "There's a wonderful social message in this that I think audiences will find both interesting and provocative as well as entertaining."

That's certainly the way director Jonathan Mostow feels about the film.

It's not as if Mostow started out with a completely blank slate: The movie's screenplay is based on "The Surrogates," a graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele that came out in 2005. And that work, in turn, was inspired by "The Cybergypsies," a book about online addiction in the dial-up modem era. (Those two works, by the way, make a perfect dual selection for the Cosmic Log Used Book Club - a semi-regular listing of books on cosmic themes that have been around long enough to turn up at libraries and secondhand-book shops.)

Even though the concepts that gave rise to "Surrogates" go back a quarter-century, Mostow told me the movie includes a few twists that should give today's Twitterers, texters and Facebookers something to think about.

Here's an edited version of my Q&A with Mostow:

Cosmic Log: How does the vision behind this movie differ from the vision behind, say, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," which you also directed?

Mostow: With "Terminator" and the tradition of science fiction that is about sentience - thinking robots - the core is that somehow we are surrendering control to the computers. That goes back a very long way. In the last 25 years you can think of the seminal movies on that theme - like "WarGames." You remember that movie? The "Terminator" franchise, which has been around for 20 years, is asking that same question: Isn’t it dangerous to surrender control to the machines, because look at what machines can do.

This movie asks a different question. The robots are not independently thinking robots. They’re simply tools. They’re sort of a physical manifestation of ourselves on the Internet. Right now on the Internet you can go and you can shop, talk with your friends, get the news. You can express your opinion. You can pretty much live a full human life without ever leaving your home.

Q: … And it can be a different life from the actual life that you’re leading offline. I suppose that in the movie, as in the graphic novel, you can have somebody sitting on the couch eating potato chips and pretending that he’s a beautiful woman at the club.

A: Yeah, absolutely. And that’s certainly one of the side effects, if you will, of what happens when we live that way. But the bigger question is really, in a world where we are seemingly more connected with each other than ever before, you could argue that were actually more disconnected from each other than ever before - because we’re actually, really not interacting with each other on a personal basis.

What does that do to people? How does it change society, and how does it change the people in it? Those are very different questions this movie is posing, as opposed to all the other robot movies that have come before it.

Q: Are there things that you or the actors brought from their own lives? I think a lot of the people in Hollywood today are pretty savvy on this whole idea of mediated online identity nowadays. When you were putting together the movie, could you draw upon real-life experiences in that area?

A: Yes. I think anybody who lives anywhere where you can be connected via the Internet has on some level a love-hate relationship with this technology.

Q: Any examples?

Stephen Vaughan / Touchstone Pictures

Director Jonathan Mostow works on "Surrogates."

A: For example, during the Christmas holiday before we started shooting, Bruce was on the beach in the Bahamas - and he had his BlackBerry, and he couldn’t stand the fact that even in the most remote, beautiful place on earth, he was getting e-mails, text messages and phone calls. He just took his BlackBerry and flung it out in the ocean. And he watched the glow of the screen as it sunk beneath the surface of the water - there was this great feeling that he had.

In fact, that’s sort of what Bruce does in the movie - not so much with a BlackBerry, but with his own connection to technology.

Q: Is there something that you’d like moviegoers to know as they walk into the theater - something to watch for that may not be obvious if you’re just looking for a fast-paced action thriller?

A: Well, I think that the movie is first and foremost entertainment, but what the movie hopefully also does is ask some questions. I hope it kicks off a conversation at the end of the movie, about taking a step back and looking at our relationship to technology. In fact, the inspiration for the author who wrote the graphic novel was a book about the addictive behavior of people on the Internet - people who simply could not pull themselves away from the computer. And this was in the mid-1990s. That seems like ancient history to us now, right?

Q: Right …

A: That was before Facebook, before Twitter, before all these social networking places. You had e-mail, and most of us were using dial-up modems. Even back then, people just couldn’t let go of it. So it’s interesting that the core of human behavior as far as technology goes hasn’t really changed.

[It was also interesting to listen to the recording of this Q&A and hear the blings, boings and tweets going off from the e-mail, instant-messaging and Tweetdeck software on my computer nearby - sounds that I had tuned out during the interview.]

Q: Was there any research into online identities that you personally drew upon when you were working on the film, or was it more a case of your informal research … just seeing how people use the Internet.

A: I think a lot of is … yeah, it's living life. If you have an online presence, if you use the Internet, you understand how these things work. And that will be taken from your own personal experience. If you use that as the basis for a movie, you’re much more likely to stumble upon the truth of something.

Q: Are there any technological innovations that are introduced in the movie that could help people see this in a different light? Any twists that play off what's happening in the Twittersphere?

A: Well, I don't want to give away any of the plot … but we do know just from the test audiences who have seen the movie that people are finding it very thought-provoking. It's a little bit different from your typical Hollywood thriller.

Q: That's fair. Can you say if working on this movie has changed the way that you or the other folks you worked with think about social networking? Are you trying to reduce the time you spend on the BlackBerry or the iPhone because of the work that you’ve done here?

A: That's a great question. I have to say that, when I'm on the computer now, I'm aware that I'm on the computer. I'm aware that that clock is ticking. I'm aware that for that time when I’m online, that’s time that I’m not spending offline. And so every hour that you're on the computer is an hour that you're not actually in real life, you’re not doing something for real.

A Bicycle Built For Two ... You and Your Personal Cycling Robot

Why use up all your energy on a bicycle, pedaling frenetically up steep hills, when you can get 'somebody' else to do the work for you...like a willing robot. No more complaining, whimpering slackards on the back of your tandem bicycle pretending to work but mostly whining and gazing at the scenery while you work up the sweat.

Meet Joules, robot biker and primo driver-passenger of one of the coolest bicycles you'll see this week. Joules is an inspiration to any weekend cyclist...at least one (like us) who's basically lazy and, on any given Sunday, would just assume have a robot as a cycling companion than a potentially nagging, underworking or overly-chatting human.

Disturbingly Real Replicants from Hanson Robotics

Written by Aaron Saenz |

If Disney’s Hall of Presidents upset you, if Chuck E. Cheese and his friends frighten you, if the TV show Dinosaurs gave you nightmares - don’t read this post! Hanson Robotics is in the business of creating life-like animatronic faces and they’ve gotten disturbingly real. Complex emotions play across the visages of these robotic replicants and if you’re not careful you’ll soon buy into their reality. Check out the videos of Hanson’s creations after the break.

What makes a robot smile?

Dr. David Franklin Hanson, Jr , the founder of Hanson Robotics, owes much of his success to Frubber. Frubber is a revolutionary material with a porous structure that allows it to move similarly to human tissue. Previously used materials were too heavy and too stiff. Using Frubber, Hanson can create a wide range of realistic facial expressions while cutting the need for powerful actuators. Typical applications using Frubber consume more than 20 times less power than with traditional materials. A realistic face and neck can run for hours using just a few AA batteries.

…Believe It or Not

The engineers at Hanson Robotics appreciate good science fiction. That’s why in 2005 they built a realistic replicant of author Phillip K. Dick (Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly and many others). Using information about the authors life, voice recordings, and an AI program, they were able to create an interactive experience. Here’s a great video from WIRED:

After Phillip Dick, other great science luminaries were sure to come. In 2006, Hanson teamed up with Hubo robotics in Korea to form a fully articulate android… of Albert Einstein. Whereas the Phillip animatronic just sat down, this new android could move around. Since it’s creation this android, and the detached robotic head, have been big crowd favorites. It recently appeared, along with other Hanson creations, at the 2009 TED conference. Check out the original Hubo/Hanson session in the video below:

Undoubtedly the success of these replicants is largely due to Frubber and fame. We perceive realistic facial expressions on celebrities and we overlook the shortcomings. It’s the same set of conditions that makes a wax museum successful. In addition, however, Hanson robots can also maintain eye contact. Using face tracking software, the replicants know where to look and how to move to keep their audience interested. Coupled with an interactive program that can learn from past conversations, these developments push the Hanson robots closer and closer to the Uncanny Valley.

The Uncanny Valley is that point where a simulated being becomes too realistic too enjoy. It’s a classic concept in robotics: develop something vaguely human and it will be cute. Create something too life- like and we will be disturbed by its imperfections. Hanson robotics doesn’t believe in the Uncanny Valley. Or rather, they think they have a solution: the Bride of Engaging Design.

In Hanson’s view, people will accept things in art that might disturb them in reality. Horror movies or sculpture by Ron Mueck, we appreciate these things even though they lie in the middle of the Uncanny Valley. The desire to understand and anthropomorphize can permit viewers to enjoy a work at all levels of realism. In that way, Hanson’s work is less disturbing than it is intriguing.

Bringing It Back to the Singularity

One of Hanson’s latest projects is called Zeno. Zeno is an anime style robot designed for entertainment and toy sales. He can walk, dance, and interact with others. His programming adopts the developments from previous Hanson projects: he adapts in conversation, maintains eye contact, and has limited learning. As part of his purpose as merchandise, he even comes with a great background story that could be included in literature, movies, or other media. You see, Zeno is the hero of the Singularity.

That’s right, in a meta-physical field day of fact and fiction, Zeno’s backstory details how he starts off as a toy in present day. By 2029 (Kurzweil fans will recognize the date), Zeno develops a greater intelligence and starts to question his existence. After the requisite government kidnapping and installation in a secret robot academy, Zeno meets new friends and helps save humanity and robots alike. Thus Zeno is the hero of both mankind and robokind. Well, it’s cute, but like so many things from Hanson Robotics, it’s a little weird. I mean you’re playing with a toy that claims it will one day develop from a toy into a sentient being. That has to make you a little cautious. “Sure Zeno, you can have some more batteries, just remember me when the revolution comes.”

Whether in toys, movies, or interactive displays, Hanson Robotics and its replicants are pushing the boundaries of what people will accept as human or human-like. Either with Frubber, or the next great material, engineers will keep improving the facial expressions, programmers will improve conversation software, and voice generation/recognition can only get better. While the animatronic faces and voices are imperfect (and in my opinion a little creepy), Hanson Robotics may be correct: in the end there may not really be an Uncanny Valley, just an audience that is hungry for new and innovative design. To those waiting for the next form of entertainment there’s likely no such thing as “too real.”