Toshiba unveils infrared bot

Toshiba has announced a prototype tabletop robot called Apri Poko that can operate household appliances like TVs via remote control. It's designed to be an all-purpose controller with cute looks.

When you operate appliances with infrared remotes, this 27 cm-tall cousin of Toshiba's ApriAlpha can detect the beams and learn to associate them with whatever they operate.

If it detects an unknown beam, it will ask you what it does, and then remember that function based on your voice response. After that, all you have to do is tell it to "Turn on the TV," and it will do the job itself.

It also has a head cam that helps it recognize users. Toshiba plans to commercialize Poko in the future, but no word yet on a date or price.

via RobotWatch

Metrobot squad infiltrates Seoul subway

South Koreans have drawn attention for plans to have a robot in every home by 2010. That faraway goal came a step closer today when the Seoul subway began deploying a small army of service robots called Metrobots to assist travelers.

The humanoid machines can provide information about subway fees, restaurants, tourist attractions and maps in Korean and English. Ten Metrobots are to work at City Hall and nine other transfer stations on the busy Metropolitan Subway system.

What with Japan's Asimo and Korea's Hubo in near-parallel development, I wonder whether this bit of one-upmanship in the robot arms race will see a flood of Wakamaru bots hitting the Tokyo underground.

Robot Detective!

Tonight Japan's channel BS2 aired a golden oldie from the vault: Robotto Keiji (Robot Detective), a short-lived 1973 tokusatsu series based on the manga by Shotaro Ishinomori about a robot crime-fighter. It predated Robocop by more than a decade.

Protagonist K is a quite a dandy for a humanoid, sporting a beret, yellow shoes and a red jacket. He drives a flying car and packs a gun mounted in his chest, handy when tussling with the Badou crime syndicate.

K fights ridiculous evil robots like Lockerman, a walking locker, and Springman...um, a giant spring. There's a great rundown of the rogue's gallery this fansite.

The funny thing about tough guy K, though, is that in times of distress he calls out "Mazaa!" (mother) and runs off to a giant mobile fortress in the shape of a goddess for repairs. His creator is a female scientist, Dr. Kirishima, who fixes him up in the fortress.

Mother complexes, human-machine relations, bargain-basement tokusatsu special effects: Robotto Keiji is great fodder for Japanologists of every stripe.

A steed for Asimo?

BigDog, an amazing robot from Boston Dynamics billed as the "most advanced quadruped robot on Earth," needs a master. I can think of none better than the most advanced humanoid robot on Earth, Asimo.

Natch, since this beast isn't Japanese-designed, it's pretty terrifying. And natch, it's funded by DARPA. It could eat Sony's lovable Aibo for lunch. BigDog's locomotion AI software is impressive and it runs on a gasoline engine! It's designed "with the goal of creating robots that have rough-terrain mobility that can take them anywhere on Earth that people and animals can go."

Robot bartender no tin can

How quickly they grow up. I remember checking out Yaskawa Electric's wheeled robot bartender SmartPal way back in 2005 when it was little more than a bucket of bolts with an LCD face.

The latest generation, SmartPal V, was announced late last year. Earlier this month it was shown off in a robot fair at the Kitakyushu Innovation Gallery down south. Kitakyushu is a center for humanoid robots in Western Japan along with Osaka.

Though it has been exhibited as a bartender, SmartPal is designed to address the demographic crisis of Japan's low birthrate and aging population by being a viable worker.

The fifth model in the series is 50% slimmer than past versions. It has new moving hand and pelvic units so it can perform more intricate tasks in manufacturing; its arms have seven joints, allowing it the same freedom of movement as a human arm.

But it can also pick up your beer bottle if you drop it, as shown in the pic.

Doraemon named anime ambassador

Famed anime character Doraemon has been named Japan's first "anime ambassador," the Foreign Ministry announced. The earless robot cat from the long-running Fujiko F. Fujio series will promote Japanese culture overseas and enhance the power of so-called Cool Japan.

"By appointing Doraemon, we hope people in other countries will understand Japanese anime better and deepen their interest in Japanese culture," a foreign ministry official said.

In the manga and anime series, Doraemon travels back in time from the 22nd century to help a hapless schoolboy named Nobita. Being a robot, Doraemon has thousands of cool gadgets that he pulls out of his fourth-dimensional pocket, like the Anywhere Door and Time Machine. Doraemon merchandising has made the character ubiquitous in Japan, appearing on everything from clothing to candy.

The move comes at a time when Japan's "scientific whaling" program has garnered it a lot of bad press overseas.

Transformer cellphone launched

New transforming cellphones from Toshiba have arms and legs, creating a very robotic look. When folded up they look like regular phones.

The 815T PB, to be marked through SoftBank starting April 2, have folding limbs and screen faces that display their "emotions." Prices haven't been announced.

The posable Keitai Sousakan 7 phones can send text messages to users about their feelings through an onboard AI application called Buddy Talk. They can learn through dialog and adapt to user behavior. They also appear as characters in screen apps.

These little guys really are more than meets the eye!