Earlier this month, Affetto the baby robot head debuted, reminding us that the humanoid bots of today have a ways to go before they steal our identities. Here are 10 more robots who aren’t quite human, but 100% heebie-jeebies worthy.
https://gizmodo.com/this-robotic-infant-head-was-designed-not-to-scare-baby-5755349
1.) Archie
This is Archie, a household robot designed by researchers at the University of Manitoba and the Vienna University of Technology. If one of your daily chores happens to be “living in a constant state of terror,” this semi-decapitated bot could be yours for $20,000 someday.
2.) Telenoid R-1
No discussion of curious robots is complete without the Telenoid R-1, which is the Kuato of telepresence machines.
https://gizmodo.com/meet-the-telenoid-r1-a-casper-like-robot-that-will-hau-5601761
3.) The Robotic Birth Simulator
I have no idea where this mechanical vagina comes from, but I can only assume this is what happens when you own a Fleshlight. Video sort of NSFW, by the way.
4.) The Simroid Dental Robot
The Simroid is a dental training robot built by Kokoro, the makers of such mechanical beings as the deathbed consolation droid. The Simroid verbalizes reactions to pain and lies forever supine, its maw agape and countenance perpetually shocked by the cruelty of its existence.
https://gizmodo.com/this-hyper-realistic-hospital-droid-will-console-you-in-5674742
5.) Yotaro
This baby simulation robot from Uchiyama Labs at the University of Tsukuba simulates a newborn child by reacting to touch and leaking fluid out of its tear ducts and nose holes. If you’ve ever wanted to give birth to a sentient hardboiled egg (but were stumped by stupid, stupid human physiology), Yotaro is your bundle of orb.
6.) The H1N1 simulation robot
This robot was showcased at the Security & Safety Trade Expo in Tokyo in 2009 — it simulates the symptoms of swine flu. But the weeping? I assume the robot taught itself how to do that.
7.) The Maidroid
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of maid cafes, you more or less pay an overly gleeful woman to be your friend for a couple hours. Maidroid Laboratories has taken this already synthetic relationship one step further and roboticized the maids. I imagine hanging out with the Maidroid is akin to enjoying some jaunty banter with the radon detector in your basement.
https://gizmodo.com/i-paid-a-woman-to-be-my-friend-at-a-tokyo-maid-cafe-5713121
8.) Zeno
Hanson Robotics — the creators of the Philip K. Dick robotic head — have also built a head for the Greek mathematician Zeno of Elea. And if you present him with a paradox, his head explodes.
https://gizmodo.com/the-lost-robotic-head-of-philip-k-dick-has-been-rebuil-5731075
9.) Diego-San
This childbot was built by Kokoro and University of California at San Diego researchers. Like Yotaro, Diego-San was modeled on a small child. Unlike Yotaro, Diego-San weighs 66 pounds and resembles a Terminator Cabbage Patch doll.
10.) The Screaming Disembodied Mouthbot
Last year Kagawa University unveiled this robo-mouth that emulates human speech using an artificial voice box. You can read about the creation and design of this device at the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.
See also:
– Cute (and strange) dancing robots
– Differences between American and Japanese views on robots
– Carnegie Mellon’s snakebots
– A robot who hates wasps
https://gizmodo.com/creepy-robot-kiss-proves-fiction-is-better-than-science-5347063
https://kotaku.com/japanese-robotic-dancers-are-cute-and-or-disquieting-5734597
https://gizmodo.com/why-do-american-and-japanese-people-have-such-different-5698824
https://gizmodo.com/watch-a-snake-robot-worm-its-way-through-an-obstacle-5712118
https://gizmodo.com/hilariously-impractical-mohawk-robot-really-hates-wasps-5671959
[Top photo via Getty]
