Inventor Builds Robot Wife 469
Inventor Le Trung must really like the book "The Stepford Wives," because he has built the dream of every lonely man without hope, a robot wife. Le's wife, Aiko, starts the day by reading him the newspaper headlines and they go for a drives in the countryside. Le says his relationship with Aiko hasn't strayed into the bedroom, but a few tweaks could turn her into a sexual partner, even redesigning her to have a simulated orgasm. *Shudder*
Inspiration..Star Wars robot C3-PO? (Score:2)
It appears from the picture in the article that Chewbacca was way ahead of this guy.
Re:Inspiration..Star Wars robot C3-PO? (Score:5, Funny)
"even redesigning her to have a simulated orgasm."
Like ALL women! AMAZING!
Re:Inspiration..Star Wars robot C3-PO? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Inspiration..Star Wars robot C3-PO? (Score:5, Insightful)
that part did seem rather awkward. it doesn't help that the article tries to play up the capabilities of the robot.
right... how does she get him a drink or clean the house without being able to walk? i don't see any wheels attached to her in any of the photos. typical media sensationalism...
this story seems to be more hype than substance. it's just a creepy nerd who's added speakers and some actuators to his Real Doll(tm). i don't see any technology demonstrated here that hasn't already existed in some form or another in various children's toys from the 80's and 90's.
i mean, does /. really have nothing better to put up on the front page than fluff pieces from The Sun [thesun.co.uk]? this kind of tripe might impress technologically illiterate housewives, but it doesn't belong on a site purportedly aimed at nerds.
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Sure it does belong on a site aimed at nerds... This informs us on how easy life could be if we got one of these robot girls, instead of trying to get a real one.
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"this kind of tripe might impress technologically illiterate housewives, but it doesn't belong on a site purportedly aimed at nerds."
Slashdot isn't aimed at nerds anymore. As it turns into Slashchan it will get more hits. but lose character. Character doesn't pay the bills.
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You do know that the Sun has other sections more appropriate for nerds http://www.page3.com/ [page3.com]
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Dude! Your killing my hopes of finally being able to get some!
So where can I buy one of these?
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Even Idle ought to be for idle nerds.
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Re:Inspiration..Star Wars robot C3-PO? (Score:4, Funny)
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So, when humans and robots breed, do they get baby cyborgs?
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Yeah exactly. Its effectively an animatronic sex toy, like some kind of inflatable doll (that's not inflatable). Funny how it doesn't take long, for some human behaviour, to decend to, great, I can make a robot!
So much for noble goals, like robots helping humanity.
Re:Inspiration..Star Wars robot C3-PO? (Score:4, Funny)
"great, I can make a robot! ... now what can I do with it?"
Well...
I for one welcome our new robot dominatricies...
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Chewbacca was way ahead of this guy
I don't get it; Mallatobuck is not a robot.
Full circle - Maria, C3P0's inspiration (Score:2)
Cheers,
Ian
I forget the movie or documentary (Score:5, Funny)
But it starts with the premise that dumb people breed... a LOT. While the smart people, well, this here is one extreme.
Giving us the resulting societies we are in.
Re:I forget the movie or documentary (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I forget the movie or documentary (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:I forget the movie or documentary (Score:4, Insightful)
Depends on your definition of "smart".... There are actually smart people out there who aren't autistic and can actually get laid.
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Well, getting laid is smart, yes. Getting pregnant on the other hand...
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Smart people do get laid. That's not the issue. Some likely reasons smart people reproduce less that dumb people:
1. They're smarter about avoiding pregnancy if they don't want to have a child. If they fail, they're more likely to have the cash to pay for abortion should they want one.
2. They want to give plenty of attention to each child, so they tend to have 1-4 kids rather than 7-12.
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They want to give plenty of attention to each child, so they tend to have 1-4 kids rather than 7-12.
But unemployed morons on welfare have plenty of time to spend with their dozen children while they're not out looking for a job... or at the bar.
Re:I forget the movie or documentary (Score:4, Insightful)
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"Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too."
-- Judge Smails
What's wrong with this picture? (Score:2, Insightful)
That's just soo wrong.
Re:What's wrong with this picture? (Score:5, Funny)
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Finally a realistic comment. The "only in Japan" tag was obviously delusional. I mean who do you seriously expect to resist something like this ? Europeans ? The middle east (you know they agreed to "stop" slavery in 1970s temporarily (permanent wasn't allowed by a certain religion), at some point the existing slaves are going to start dieing off you know ...
Let's not kid ourselves : another 10 years and everybody will scream "every house should have one".
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All the same, I'm pretty sure that if these things actually did become commonplace, I would get used to them, and they wouldn't seem uncanny anymore. Much like a teacher I had with a sub
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Given what he's trying to do here, I would say your if clause is false.
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But really that hat, you are suppose to accessorize but how about some style when you do it?
Two responses: (Score:5, Funny)
...even redesigning her to have a simulated orgasm. *Shudder*
1) Nope, not convincing
2) So it faithfully reproduces every aspect of a real wife? Except that it has an off switch*...
* /me is going to hell for that one
Re:Two responses: (Score:5, Funny)
faithfully reproduces every aspect of a real wife
That must mean there is a very advanced random behavior generator on-board.
Otherwise, it'd be about as much fun as watching a digital clock click off the time.
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A human wife has an off-switch too, it's located pretty deep tough.
Re:Two responses: (Score:4, Funny)
oh wait.
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No, no (Score:5, Funny)
Don't you mean *Quiver*
Re:No, no (Score:5, Funny)
In any case, it sounds to me like he has designed himself a robot *girlfriend* at the moment. When it is capable of having a simulated headache, we can upgrade it to 'wife' status.
Re:No, no (Score:5, Funny)
Note, it DOESN'T have sex. Ergo, "wife" not "girlfriend".
Why? (Score:5, Funny)
Wait a second. . .
dude like wth (Score:4, Funny)
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Stella (Score:2, Funny)
The guy is obviously a freak. (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, he had the chance to design his own wife, and look how flat-chested he made her.
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Blame it on the economy and downsizing.
Re:The guy is obviously a freak. (Score:5, Informative)
I mean, he had the chance to design his own wife, and look how flat-chested he made her.
Some of us like women like that ;)
Re:The guy is obviously a freak. (Score:5, Funny)
> Some of us like women like that ;)
Robotic? (Sorry, lack of impulse control...)
Re:The guy is obviously a freak. (Score:5, Funny)
He's Japanese and he didn't design her to look like a teenage school-girl.
I'm confused.
Re:The guy is obviously a freak. (Score:5, Funny)
Harcourt!!!! (Score:3, Funny)
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I don't understand the application of a robot like this
Something about deeper understanding.
This is AWESOME! Only one but (Score:2)
The robot wife is really great, but the mother in law is sort of a killjoy. [hidef.com]
Lars and the Real Girl (Score:2)
Simulated revulsion (Score:5, Insightful)
Shudder? Ick? Oh, please. Don't pretend you haven't thought about it.
I hate people who pretend to be above it all .. it usually turns out that they are actually doing the dirty along with everyone else, they just don't want anyone else to find out about it.
It's an old story (Score:5, Funny)
It's an old, old story: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy builds girl.
(Shamelessly stolen from my uncle the science fiction writer [isfdb.org].)
Sudo (Score:5, Funny)
Man: Aiko, make me a sandwhich.
Aiko: Access denied.
Man: Aiko, sudo make me a sandwhich.
Aiko: Turkey, or ham?
Ghost in the Shell (Score:2)
Exteriors for both men and women [realdoll.com] and this seems to be something of a match in technology. but thise is this too ASIMO [honda.com] which can walk and run.
And when his real wife comes home... (Score:2)
... his name will be Mudd.
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You must be new here.
Hrmm. (Score:2)
The first thing I would do if I had one is corrupt the poor thing. Be swearing like a fucking sailor in no time and her volume would gradually get louder and louder until you told her to shut up. And it may not work. Maybe teach her to shoplift. Built-in plausible deniability, dude.
Fake (Score:5, Interesting)
A couple minutes from the end, he forgets the question briefly, stutters a little, and breaks his usual pace--and she answers the question anyway, even though he hasn't gotten it out yet.
I'm 99% sure this is scripted. There's not much evidence here that she's anything more than a RealDoll Ruxpin. There's probably -some- computer control there, assuming it's not a remote-control Mechanical Turk, given that it responded to the "stop!" commands. The rest? I'll believe it when it's not just him asking the questions.
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Here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/user/aibot21 [youtube.com]
There are many videos that are more recent, including Aiko interacting with the public, and in some cases being mobbed.
What Universe is this (Score:3, Funny)
where Slashdot links to articles in The Sun!!?
Inventor's site (Score:3, Interesting)
Is much more informative [projectaiko.com]
For example, you might have guessed that the guy was into anime but reading his resume you have absolute proof.
He did 3 "how-to" books on the subject of drawing in manga style.
Aiko/Real Doll (Score:4, Funny)
It'll be interesting when people can order customized versions of this... I can imagine the shop will get calls similar to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Irs1ewDoM [youtube.com] one of my favourite prank calls. Enjoy
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obligatory... (Score:5, Funny)
She won't lick my foot! (Score:3, Funny)
Deal's off!! Post back again when she will lick my foot.
When there are woman out there... two of them... with a cup... Aiko does not yet compete with real women. But with that said, the need to replace women in general should indicate clearly that women are doing something wrong.
Its a fraud (Score:5, Insightful)
Perfect image recognition + perfect handwriting recognition all decoded and read out in real time AND doing the maths too?
Sorry , but this is a fraud - its nothing more than a pre-programmed voice box he's set up beforehand and he then puts the correct thing in front of it at the right time so it looks like its comprehending it. If you don't believe me ask yourself what are the odds that one guy could do with $14K what big corps like IBM have failed to do with hundreds of millions of dollars or research? He's either a fscking genius and has invented algorithms 20 years ahead of their time or he's got some snake oil tucked away just out of camera shot.
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If you don't believe me ask yourself what are the odds that one guy could do with $14K what big corps like IBM have failed to do with hundreds of millions of dollars or research?
I guess you're not much of a history person, are you? The world is FULL of examples of "one guy in his garage" doing far more than mega-corporations, from aircraft to linux.
Yes it could be a fraud, but your argument is invalid.
Re:Its a fraud (Score:5, Insightful)
The "one guy in his garage" generally invents a new kind of toaster or something , he doesn't solve complicated algorithmic computer problems in multiple fields all at the same time that thousands of other researchers in the field have failed to do.
Oh , and I forgot to mention - it seems to have perfect speech recognition too.
Buy hey, if he's a genius no doubt he'll patent his algos and clean up and within a year we'll all have it on our desktops.
Or maybe not.
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i want one (Score:3, Funny)
Because everyone knows that (Score:5, Funny)
Mental Problems (Score:2)
"Building your robot" wife isn't the dream of any lonely guy. Because it isn't a person, it cannot really relieve lonelyness at all. Building robot wives comes in two categories only:
Either it's really just a brainless robot. In that case, you're probably better off with fantasizing than buying a fragile piece of animated plastic for big bugs. Fantasy is more flexible and healthier from a psychological perspective (I don't need to go into the "why" on this one, don't I?).
The second category is some sort of
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And the argument that we can build the willingness to serve right into their brains doesn't count either.
Why not? It does for consenting adult humans. Nobody would say that anybody would say that a relationship was wrong because somebody's upbringing pre-disposed them to some particular type of partner.
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This is exactly what I was afraid of. Brainwashing is not a moral act, even though the person clearly "wants" to do something after the program.
If you're brought up to live your relationships in total servitude then that "upbringing" was tantamount to abuse and the relationship isn't right either.
You know, once
He got the look all wrong. (Score:2)
There are some that are hopeless (Score:5, Insightful)
Years ago I would havve mocked this. But the older I get I realize there are many people out there that just don't find someone. There are people that are "hopeless"
They end up crazy cat or dog people but I now can see that a robot wouldn't be any different then a cat or dog that a person bonds with.
I doubt many people would be lining up for the sex upgrade. I've meet some very lonely people (hospic for instance) and it's just the idea that there is someone there, be it a dog, or cat, or I suppose a robot. There are people that truely love their pets and bond with them. From cats, dogs, rats, bats, snakes, horses, goats, ferrits, birds of all sorts, and even fish. I suppose a robot would be no different really.
There are some people that aren't going to find companionship in life. I see quite a few mentally handicapped people in thier 70 and 80 (those that survive some rather barbaric eugenics movements) who never have been on a date. If a robot could have provided them some companionship, so be it.
Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age... but I just can seem to find the energy to mock this stuff anymore. I've seen too many lonley people suffering quietly who could use someone that fits some of the holes in their hearts. And sometimes you just need to hear someone speak to you. Some gaps, no pet can fill.
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My own elder brother, who works for a defense contractor, was dumped 14 years ago by his fiancee. He took it hard, but went through grad school, did some top notch work, worked for 2 years at NASA before deciding to make more money. Maybe he decided to drown his sorrows in his work initially, but then work sort of became his joy. I know because I tried to double date a few times.
Now, he is 39, and h
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It's hope that keeps them going. False hope, but hope none the less. I've see people just start at the door, hoping that some family member will come walking in. I've met a few "basement" dwellers, oddballs, and rejects. I've met some people working for a web dating service (customers) that have been trying for YEARS just to meet someone. They're too fat, too bald, no clumsy, to ugly, too ... something and just won't find anyone. I've seen adults with various mental defects. They'll never marry, date, have
Stella Dear.... (Score:2)
I had the androids construct a perfect replica of Stella ... thing ... thing ...
so that I could gaze upon her
and rejoice in her absence.
Gentlemen, attend.
Stella, dear.
Mm, Harcourt.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd, what have you been up to?
Nothing good, I'm sure.
Well, let me tell you,
you lazy, good-for-nothing --
Shut up.
nothing
Marvelous, isn't it?
I finally have the last word with her
Not all the Creator Claims... (Score:3, Informative)
Link to his thread on that forum: http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=1335.0 [societyofrobots.com]
A quote of interest, from the robot's creator:
"I am what you called a mad scientist. I don:t believe any documentation, No blue print, No paperwork, No Cad. I have build 12+ large robots (main robots) none of which has any documentation or blue print...
Even the software has NO documentation. The software is about 3Gig and I think I have about 15 lines of comments. The typical variable name I used are.... X, X1,X2, A1,A2,AA1,AA2,AAA1,AAA2 etc..."
That's Ridiculous (Score:3, Insightful)
Every man has a hope for a partner, they just need to get off their ass learn some new skills. Women are attracted to how you hold yourself and not by what you do or how good you look.. Well women worth dating that is.
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Actually, this was a guy in Canada, according to the article.
This is probably the best thing I've seen on Idle so far.
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This is probably the best thing I've seen on Idle so far.
Or least worst, anyway.
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Re:Not Japan, Not America (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, his command for her to read Japanese was not actually a Japanese command. It was an English command translated to Japanese (i.e. in English a command is issued with just the uninflected simple non-past verb, whereas it has to be conjugated to form a command--and there are several politeness levels--in Japanese).
What we are seeing here is a creepy foreigner with a creepy Japanese otaku fetish.
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Yeah, right, because in 2008, two willing, adult humans can't even necessarily get married. But sure, humans and nonsentient machines in 30 years. Sounds probable.
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And if that doesn't do it for you, find a copy of "Electro-Gonorrhea: The Noisy Killer."