I, Creepy-ass Robot
Seriously, if this has ANYTHING to say about where robotics is headed, then it is going to be one ultra-creepy future, folks.
The robot-in-question’s name is Simroid and she is the stuff that nightmares are made of. Simroid was unveiled at the 2007 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo and is used primarily as a training tool for dentists. Check it out for yourself:
See what I mean? Jesus, gives me shivers every time I see it. Supposedly she was built with “air-powered muscles and soft silicone skin” and her mouth is overloaded with sensors. These sensors alert whatever poor schlock is using her for target practice that he/she’s made a mistake.
And to express her pain, she grimaces, moves her hands and eyes, and says, “That hurts.”
Wow. I just can’t imagine how these people sleep at night. Simroid is so lifelike that it’s like performing dentistry on an actual human being! Whoa, what a radical concept.
So why is this thing even necessary? Who knows. But the good news, practitioners of teeth, if you get real lonely preparing for an exam and you find yourself all alone with Simroid, fear not!
for an extra touch of realism, Simroid exhibits a gag reflex when instruments are inserted too far into her mouth.
Yes! I could so go there, but I won’t. Self-restraint, folks. Self-restraint.
Kokoro Company Ltd., the creator of the automaton, is also responsible for Actroid, the receptionist robot which, while horribly disturbing in its own right, is still light years away from the creep-factor Simroid oozes from every one of her engineered orifices.
And hell, these things evolving artificial intelligence and taking over would be the worst. I’d much rather have huge mechanized things like in the Matrix films - at least you can’t mistake them for strung-out Asian chicks.
Check out the article over at Pink Tentacle.
Ciao.