RealDoll Meets Roomba

Posted by tomo at 11:50 PM in robots . | 2 Comments

Android World has announced the tentative sale of its first two Valeries. The $59,000 female android speaks English and cleans dishes and clothes among other things. However, the website states that she won't be a willing sex partner because of the bad publicity. That won't last long.

They plan to phase in three androids total in the next 6 years, Valerie being the first, followed by a male android named Eric and a space assembly worker named Apollo. The people who own the company and work for the company are currently not paying themselves and working out of their homes so they have money to pay for contractors and materials. If you're an AI programmer, penumatic/hydraulic control expert, or patent attorney, they are currently hiring.

Human-looking androids may be the ideal but right now they come off as a bit creepy. Until we have removed the noticeable differences that alert our creep-sensors, robots may be better off not trying to look too realistic. The Japanese have a knack for cute (kawaii) that shows in NEC's small PaPeRo Personal Robot R100. If they want humanoid then maybe kigurumi is the model to follow.

Anyways, the folks at Android World expect the android market to blow up as big as the auto market and Honda and Toyota may expect the same thing as they're both developing droids of their own. The first droids may be expensive but costs should decrease and one day be as affordable (or not) as cars. Don't expect this to happen in Detroit though. Japan is currently owning the robotics industry and the top robotics academic programs are currently all in Japan.