Robotic dummies for rent

I've written before about the elegant mannequin robots designed by Tatsuya Matsui and his studio Flower Robotics. Matsui has just announced that he is offering these curious machines for rent, to the tune of $3,000 apiece for four days. Not cheap, but chump change to some haute couture dealers.

Matsui's Palette mannequin, above, has limited artificial intelligence. Its 16 joints allows it to strike a pose in response to people around it. I was struck by its quiet grace.

Matsui wants to turn Palette into a product by renting them to stores and event organizers. "We want to prove that (humanoid robots) can be commercially viable with this mannequin robot," the Nikkei reported the architect and product designer as saying.

For more on Matsui, read my Japan Times article here.

Via Nikkei Net