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Geminoid clone-bot hipper than human original

Here's a nifty way to preserve your youth and popularity: get Japanese entertainment company Kokoro to make an ageless robot clone of yourself.

Danish academic Henrik Scharfe did just that and his clone looks ready to get out and party. Or perhaps play the villain in a reboot of "Die Hard."

Aalborg University's Scharfe (no relation to Alan Rickman) has been working with Kokoro and Japan's Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) to create Geminoid DK, a lifelike android copy of himself. DK follows in the silicon footsteps of Geminoids HI-1 and F1, developed in collaboration with Osaka University roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, father of the Telenoid robo-fetus.

Scharfe plans to test his clone at ATR and then ship it back to the new Geminoid Lab in Denmark, where he presides over Aalborg University's Center for Computer-mediated Epistemology.

Geminoids are basically remote-controlled slave robots powered by a quiet air servo system. They mimic the facial expressions, lip movements, and body motions of a human user through motion-tracking gear and an Internet link. As the vid below shows, Scharfe's clone is already quite lifelike. So when it starts projecting his voice and mimicking his idiosyncrasies, students may freak a bit. See more videos and pics here. I love its evil sideways glance. … Read more

Unholy robo-fetus Elfoid is your new cell phone

Japanese demon-spawn Telenoid, the nightmarish fetus-like telepresence robot, has had a little half-baked runt of its own. As we reported at a January preview, Elfoid is a humanoid-shaped cell phone that tries to look cute. And lives in your pocket.

Osaka University roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, never a stranger to controversy with his lifelike robot clones, outdid himself again with his Eraserhead-like baby.

A few details of the android (not Android) phone were released at a press conference today in Tokyo. Elfoid is covered with creamy polyurethane foam and is about 8 inches long. The idea is that it works as … Read more

Robovie R3 robot wants to hold your hand

Japanese start-up Vstone and Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, or ATR, have launched a new half-size humanoid robot designed to assist the elderly and disabled in everyday tasks like grocery shopping and navigating train stations.

Robovie R3 is the latest version of the robotic platform that the Osaka firm and Kyoto lab have been developing for several years. Last year, Robovie II was tested at a supermarket and could be seen making shopping suggestions to the woman it was accompanying.

R3 is built of plastic over an aluminum frame. It stands about 3 feet tall, weighs 77 pounds, and moves around on a wheeled base at roughly the same speed as a person walking.

It can roll over raised tiles designed to guide visually impaired people, a common feature in public areas of Japan. It can also hold a person's hand while moving and go up and down wheelchair ramps.

The robot is equipped with 15 servomotors and has 17 degrees of freedom (axes of movement). It has 11 touch sensors, USB eye cameras, two microphones, and two optional distance sensors.

It's being sold as a research platform. While incorporating significant cost reductions from Robovie II, R3 will still cost about as much as a sports car--some $40,000. ATR and Vstone hope to sell about 30 units this year.

One option for R3 is a special exterior designed by Tomotaka Takahashi of start-up Robo-Garage. The design makes R3 look a lot like Takahashi's Ropid humanoid, a cute little bot that can hop several inches off the floor.

With all the work that went into R3, it's a pity the machine's voice sounds like Mickey Mouse on helium. Would it be a hit with kids? See (and hear) it in action after the jump. … Read more

Hobby robot Robovie packs PC power

Osaka, Japan-based robot maker Vstone has announced a new humanoid hobby robot that has its own 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, compatible with Windows and Linux.

Developed in collaboration with Japan's ATR labs, the new Robovie-PC represents an evolution in hobby robots with its advanced electronics.

Robovie-PC attempts to fill the gap between high-end machines in research labs and competitive hobby bots as seen in Robo-One and Robocup.

The 15.3-inch Robovie-PC comes preassembled and has an impressive 20 degrees of mechanical freedom, a gyro sensor and accelerometer, as well as onboard Wi-Fi and a 1.3-megapixel CMOS … Read more