HRP-4C is a robotic woman just unveiled to reporters in Tsukuba City (northeast of Tokyo) Japan. This cybernetic human sells for about $200,000.
Developed at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, the HRP-4C female robot is able walk and follow some basic commands. The robotic woman is about the same size as an average Japanese young woman, at a height of 158 centimeters; it weighs just 43 kilograms (including battery).
Thirty motors in the body help it to walk and move about; eight motors power facial expressions.
Take a look at HRP-4C in the video below.
(HRP-4C robotic woman video)
Besides walking, the female robot is able to use facial motions and arm movements to indicate basic emotions, such as anger and surprise.
Despite the fact that this robot is clearly the creation of engineers (as opposed to artists who might provide this device with a greater semblance of feminine gesture and movement), it still makes me think of Fritz Leiber's mechanical bride:
Streamlined, smooth-working, absolutely noiseless, breath-takingly realistic. Each one is powered by thirty-seven midget electric motors, all completely noiseless, and is controlled by instructions, recorded on magnetic tape, which are triggered off by the sound of your voice and no one else's. There is a built-in microphone that hears everything you say, and an electric brain that selects a suitable answer. The de luxe model is built to your specifications, has fifty different facial expressions...
Fans of early cinema might also remember the female robot from Fritz Lang's 1927 classic Metropolis.
(Female robot from Fritz Lang's Metropolis)
Take a look at some of this robot's rivals:
- Actroid DER2 Late Model Fembot
- E.M.A. Robot Eternal Maiden Actualization Video
- Actroid DER2 Gets TV Commercial Gig Video
- Palette Super Model Robot
- Aiko Fembot No Stepford Wife
From BBC; thanks to Zac for pointing this one out.
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