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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Face-morphing robot can look like anyone |
| 2007-09-19 |
| Video posted at link. The WD-2 robot is a pretty amazing piece of technology. It can't walk, talk, compute awesomely complex equations, or carry heavy objects. What it can do, however, is morph to look like anyone's face. Created by researchers at Tokyo University, the WD-2 has "17 facial points, for a total of 56 degrees of freedom," whatever that means. Made from a material called Septom, which is both very rigid as well as malleable, it's able to shift to match nearly any facial structure. It's certainly a creepy idea, one that I can't quite see the practical benefits of. It's also incredible to watch doing its thing, as a realistic face seems to morph on the fly into another, completely different realistic face. Technology is a crazy thing, isn't it? — Adam Frucci |
| Posted by:Delphi |
| #2 Can look like anyone? And could be programmed to not mind who's name you call it? Hey, this |
| Posted by: OyVey1 2007-09-19 11:48 |
| #1 There is finally some real momentum in the development of humanoid robot technologies. By combining several technologies, we are getting much closer to a practical and useful device. 1) Subdividing the robot "brain" into three parts, much like a humans brain with a primitive, midbrain and upper brain, but with only the primitive brain inside its physical body, overcomes many technical problems. The midbrain would be in proximity to the robot, communicating with WIFI. And the upper brain would be a supercomputer available by Internet. 2) Two different types of muscle control. For ordinary "weak" and precise muscle movement, use air tubes wrapped in mesh, made by the Shadow Robot Company: http://www.shadowrobot.com/airmuscles/overview.shtml For strong muscle movements, a new "strong" type of muscle developed for prosthetic limbs: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20496850/ 3) The main energy supply of a humanoid robot has always been problematic, but recent innovations in propane fuel cells and capacitors may create some reasonable solutions. Propane contains far more energy than ethanol, but also burns cleanly, producing only water and carbon dioxide. Capacitors have also been radically improved, and are far superior to batteries for many applications. A new type may be able to power an electric car for 400 miles between chargings. This suggests that there will be three energy supplies: capacitor for "weak" muscle movements, with peroxide for "strong" muscle movements, and propane to power all other electrical systems. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-09-19 10:38 |