Getting cuddly with Actroid

He has created the perfect woman. Her only flaw: she isn't human.
- Star Trek, "Requiem for Methuselah"

On a recent visit to robot maker Kokoro, I got a backstage tour of the magic and spent some quality time with their lovely lady android, mentioned in an earlier post. Actroid is a synthetic female, ultra-lifelike in appearance and movement. I'd seen her several times at various events, but at Kokoro I got to get up close and kick the tires, as it were.

Actroid is designed to work as a receptionist or emcee. The receptionist version sits in a sensor-laden booth and can answer questions in four languages, almost like a fortuneteller. Four receptionist Actroids gave directions to visitors at the 2005 Aichi Expo in Japan. The latest emcee version, Actroid DER2, stands on a platform, generally looks gorgeous and introduces stage acts. She's equipped with 46 servomotors and a repertoire of sassy comments, like "Please don't touch me -- it's sexual harassment!"

Never one to take "no" from an android, I squeezed the Charmin. Her skin is soft and smooth, though cold. Somewhat like a rubber chicken. With her winsome looks and totally gyaru wardrobe - she goes out in Hello Kitty t-shirts, a nod to parent company Sanrio - it's easy to overlook this shortcoming. All she needs is a little warmth in her silicone hide.

A mind would be nice, too. The wizards at Kokoro, however, are already working on this. A company official told me the firm is pursuing collaborative artificial intelligence research to make Actroid more humanlike. With warm skin and a sharper tongue, who knows what she'd be capable of?

Global revolution, methinks.