Making a valley out of a ditch

typed for your pleasure on 26 January 2011, at 7.21 pm

Sdtrk: ‘Reinforced Bio-drug use 72mm’ by Masonna vs Speedranch

Back in November, ‘Shouting etc etc’ had a spike in visits due to the piece on Sidore and I on Asylum’s website. Then it dropped off for a few days, but then it accelerated again, only I couldn’t suss where the second wave of referrals was coming from. That is, until I received a comment from a reader, who had explained that Cracked.com had linked to me, in a roundabout way. They had a story, which referenced the edited version of Meghan Laslocky’s article on Salon.com, which links to (what’s left of) my wife’s vanity site, ‘Kitten with a Whip!’, and that, obviously, is linked to me.
So what was Cracked going on about? ‘5 Creepy Ways Humans Are Plunging Into the Uncanny Valley’. Coming in at number five? RealDolls. Yeah, you can doubtless hear my eyes rolling from wherever you happen to be reading this.

Longtime readers are painfully aware that I have issues with the supposed issues that people have with the so-called uncanny valley. For one, noted roboticist David Hanson, who is the closest person the United states has to Japanese roboticist and creator of the Actroid series of Gynoids, Hiroshi Ishiguro, doesn’t take much stock in that school of thought, either. ‘The “uncanny valley” is a theory, but people treat it like science’, he’s quoted as saying, and I’m inclined to agree with him.
Just to remind you: basically, the whole ‘uncanny valley’ thing is a hypothesis developed by roboticist Masahiro Mori around 1970, which states that the closer the appearance of something approaches that of an Organik being, the more likely it is to drastically affect the emotions of those who see it, usually in a negative fashion. Here’s the oft-used visual aid:

The closer a robot gets in appearance, movement, and behaviour to Organik life, the more most people find it unsettling. Which I personally view as being contradictory and nonsensical, but hey.
That’s a brief summary of the uncanny valley hypothesis; you can check out the 12″ extended dance remix over on Wikipedia.

It’s been often argued that the reason why a lot of Organiks are averse to Synthetiks is because they’re either expressionless and emotionless, or the emotions they display are false. I’ve always maintained that if Organiks already understand that a Synthetik human is an artificial one, hence the distinction between ‘Organik’ and ‘Synthetik’ (more on that later), then there shouldn’t be an issue. If a person of reasonable intelligence — yes yes, the numbers are dwindling rapidly, I know — is already aware that the being they’ve encountered is affictitious, then their reaction should be at the most slightly startled, as opposed to the over-the-top feelings detractors claim to have of revulsion.
As regards to the lack of facial expression that a number of current Synthetiks possess, the respective R&D departments are working on it. Humanoid robotics admittedly still has a bit of a ways to go, but in the past decade, it’s come a long way. That’s what’s known as progress. General society seems to have this enormously unrealistic (ha ha) expectation that any Androids and Gynoids that emerge from a lab are going to be completely indistinguishable from Organik humans, and unless they are, society will loudly decry the in-between stages. Despite realism obviously being the goal, that’s simply not going to occur right out of the gate. That’s as if someone in the mid-Eighties, upon seeing those huge brick-style cellphones, decided they still weren’t good enough because they couldn’t watch MTV on the tiny LED screen. I know, I know, ‘what’s MTV’. But again, anyone with a modicum of intelligence would be able to overlook the aesthetic and mobile shortcomings that an artificial human may have, as long as those shortcomings aren’t entirely drastic.
And regarding the programmes that a Synthetik would eventually have that would resemble emotions; again, if you already know the person is a robot, then your suspension of disbelief should theoretically kick in and solve the problem. Besides, Organik humans lie all the time! Why don’t more people have issues with that fact?

Body language interpretation is another factor in the uncanny valley scenario. Those who subscribe to that ‘theory’ cite that their feelings of creepiness (I hate that word) stem from the way current Androids and Gynoids move — again, as the mechanical technology is still being developed, it’s somewhat stilted and jerky. It has been argued that biological humans find less-than-fluid movement to be unpleasant due to centuries of conditioning: if we encounter a person that moves in an unfamiliar manner, alarms go off in our brains saying SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THIS PERSON AVOID AVOID. However, using that line of thought, why don’t most people recoil in horror when they see someone that has Parkinson’s disease? Or cerebral palsy? Or those prone to epileptic seizures? Well, in less-enlightened times, people did, and pronounced them possessed, or worse. Just as an intelligent society can interpret a person afflicted with a syndrome or disorder as not something to run in fear from, by that logic, someone observing a contemporary Android or Gynoid should be able to say to themselves, ‘ah, that’s more than likely a Synthetik’.
Organik humans can parse the body language of non-human beings, if they’re open-minded, and are given enough time to do so. We’ve discovered that if a cat purrs, and a dog wags his tail, they are more than likely content. We’ve also discovered that different species don’t necessarily display the same emotions in the same fashion — if you see a cat wagging his tail, chances are he ain’t exactly happy, as another example. Now if humans can read, with some degree of certainty, the body language of animals, then there should be no reason Organiks shouldn’t be able to learn the body language of Synthetiks. Especially when, technically speaking, the body language of a humanoid robot would be specifically designed to mimic that of an Organik, and be therefore easier to understand than that of an animal.

One fear that the uncanny valley elicits in a lot of people would be an existential one: for some observers, seeing an Android or a Gynoid — an affictitious person that behaves like and resembles a living Organik being — reminds them that unlike a Synthetik, their own lifespan is limited. Mass-produced Synthetiks also tap into the fear that biological humans are no longer ‘unique’, or ‘special’, or ‘the crown of creation’.
For one, these people are glossing over the fact that Entropy Prevails, no matter if you were born in a womb, or made in a factory. Presupposing that artificial people ‘can’t die’ is akin to thinking your car/microwave/computer will never break down. Granted, you can state that at least with a computer, if the hard drive’s undamaged, you can remove it and pop it into another tower, thereby extending its ‘lifespan’, and with more sophisticated robot technology. one would be able to do the same with an Android or Gynoid. I realise being able to perform that act alone kicks over a wastebin full of philosophical questions, but I’m doing my best to not visit Tangentburg, as I normally do. But I personally think the fact that someone could have a companion that would never become ill or die shouldn’t be a reminder of one’s mortality; instead, their longevity should be celebrated. You could perhaps view it like having children, or better yet, progeny, that go on to do things long after you’re gone, although I’m more than certain there would be some technosexuals that would prefer their afficititious partners go to the grave with them *cough cough*. The Synthetik creations of humankind would continue advancing our ideas and work when our own bodies have given up on us.

As I see it, eventually humanoid robots that look and act sufficiently like biological humans will be treated very similarly to biological humans. There’ll be some provisions, of course, but as the technology continues to develop, the hope is that humanoid robots will be classed as human, albeit a Synthetik human, as opposed to the good ol’ fashioned Organik humans that you’ve doubtless encountered at one time or another. The exact spelling of the term will undoubtedly change; I hold no illusions in that regard. But intelligent members of future generations that are lucky enough to be able to interact with artificial humans on a day-to-day basis will come to regard them as human, but will still need to differentiate them from flesh-and-blood people for the sake of practicality.

Under normal circumstances, it could reasonably be argued that I have a cynical outlook on society; I don’t refer to myself as a pessimist, but the label’s not completely wide off the mark. The one thing that I’m definitely optimistic about, however, is the inevitable arrival of Synthetik people. ‘Uncanny valley’ or not, their presence will occupy some much-needed spaces in commerce, exploration, arts and sciences, and day-to-day living. Quite honestly, believing in the uncanny valley makes about as much sense as being afraid of one’s own shadow, and I think that the more often that Organiks are exposed to and interact with Synthetiks, then those immature phobias will gradually disappear.


Top, HRP-4C Miim; bottom, Actroid Sara. The future’s looking good

‘If a robot appears in every way to possess consciousness, then in my opinion, we should accept that it does’
— David Levy, author and futurist

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

Don't go teasin' on December 18th, 2006

Yes, more pro-Synthetiks propaganda on April 12th, 2009


Invasion of the pod(cast) people

typed for your pleasure on 13 January 2011, at 12.32 am

Sdtrk: ‘Pieces’ by Blank dogs

Well will you ‘ark at that — another interview. It’s true!
Back in November, Don Recuero and Diana Sparx, of the podcast blog Mindcore, had asked if I’d like to speak at length about the usual blather I’m known for, I suppose. However, there are two interesting aspects that made this a noteworthy experience…

First, the session wasn’t simply centred round RealDolls, or my life with the Missus, but we also took a significant amount of time discussing the future of humanoid robotics in society, so as you’d suspect, it was fun talking about something beyond Dolls for a change. Sure, we spoke about the unique relationship Sidore and I have, both in a fictional and nonfictional context, but the fact that they didn’t just stop there was definitely appreciated.
Secondly, Don and Diana were not the typical interviewers that I’ve often encountered. For one, Mindcore’s previous slant was towards free-thinking and the discussion of atheist ideas, so clearly this was a venue that was more open toward nontraditional concepts. Upon reflection, Don and Diana kinda remind me of V.Vale and Andrea Juno, former collaborators of the counterculturalist press known as RE/Search.
Third, this would be the first podcast interview I’d done, and I have to say, I thought it was pretty neat! A good time was had by all.
Huh! Looks like that was three interesting aspects, then! Math was never my strong point, really.

Go visit Mindcore right this damned minute, and have a listen to ‘Davecat: Man Marries Robot‘, s’il vous plaît. And be sure to let the hosts know how much you enjoyed it! There is no better conceivable way to spend ninety minutes. Fact

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

Another interlude? Why yes. on April 22nd, 2012

Any Synthetik-related news, Davecat? (Mar 2014) on March 23rd, 2014


Any Synthetiks-related news, Davecat? (Oct 2010)

typed for your pleasure on 17 October 2010, at 2.29 pm

Sdtrk: ‘Live at Gilman st’ by Masonna

And now, the twin sister to the previous half!…

+ This would be breaking news that I just learned of, otherwise it would’ve been in the previous post — you’ll forgive me, of course — but remember that adorable walkin’ talkin’ Gynoid Miim-chan, formerly known as HRP-4C? It appears that she was centre stage in a dance routine at the Digital Content Expo this month. Thumbs up for Miim-chan!

Sure, their dresses look as if they raided The Four King Cousins wardrobe, but still, an impressive display. And at the very least, it’s better than that ridiculous Tron hat they made her wear last year. Now all AIST needs to work on is 1) making Miim-chan’s movements a bit faster, and 2) rebuilding her body so that she has legs to show off as well, wink wink. She still meets and exceeds the Synthetik sexiness quotient, however.

+ Orient industry, the pioneers that revolutionised the dutch wife in Japan, have released four comely new heads for their fantastic Real Love Doll Ange line: Anna, Erika, Saori, and Shizuka. Lovely as the photos are, I can only show their faces here, cos their shoots feature them in the altogether, and some people actually view ‘Shouting etc etc’ from public venues, such as the library. Admit it, you’ll be heading round to the Orient industry site after you read this, liberry or not.


Left, Saori, looking like Lindsay Lohan; right, Erika, looking like Saori looking like Lindsay Lohan

From my limited fumblings in translation, it appears as if the Ange line at least is now starting to be made with better skeletons, as the site mentions titanium frames. They’ve also have increased posability, eye movement (meaning you’ll be the one that moves them, not the Doll herself), and something impressive/scary listed as… ‘power grip’. Ahem. Well done, Orient industry!

+ 4woods have hit another one out of the park with the debut of two new heads! So technically, they’ve hit another two out of the park, if that’s the case. Anyway! Now available for purchase would be the alluring Alicia, and the charming Coron, both of which are guaranteed to improve anyone’s day. Fact.


Alicia likes slingshot bikinis and pouting, yet dislikes shoes and oligarchy


Coron-chan, doing her best to make sure the bed doesn’t float away

The Alicia head fits the A.I.Doll Evolution body, whereas the Coron head was designed to fit the A.I.Peach body, so take that into consideration when you’re deciding which lovely 4woods rubber lass you want to order.
Funnily enough, I used to watch a tokusatsu series called ‘Chōjū sentai Liveman (Super beast Battle team Liveman)’, and one of the characters was a cheery and guileless Gynoid named Koron. Perhaps 4woods are hinting at something? Or maybe Hiroo Okawa is just a sentai fan at heart…

+ Speaking of A.I.Dolls, photographer Hiroshi Watanabe has enlisted a group of them, as well as a few Organik ladies, as models for his new project, ‘Love Point’.


Left, ‘Mitsumi’; right, ‘Yu-ki’s Hand’

Watanabe’s previously photographed those things which represented the fictional performances or representations of mankind. In this new body of work, the boundaries of fiction and reality become increasingly blurred and tangled. He has photographed both life-like Japanese sex-dolls and live Japanese models, intermingling of the real and fictional images within this photobook. To further blur reality and fiction, the dolls are made-up, dressed and posed to appear like live women, while the live models are made-up, similarly dressed with wigs and posed to be appearing doll-like.

In this body of work, his usual black and white photographs further abstract the portraits and eliminate additional clues as to which is the live model versus which is the life-like Japanese sex-dolls. It appears that he has taken license and careful consideration to make them indistinguishable. This continues his discourse on fact, fiction and fantasy.
taken from this site

Very interesting! Well, it’s a monograph with the subject being Dolls; of course it’s interesting.
‘Love Point’ doesn’t seem to be widely available in the States, but you’ll be pleased to know you can order a copy from photo-eye Bookstore.

+ So people were impressed with TrueCompanion’s Roxxxy, ‘the world’s first sex robot’. Sure. However, I’d personally met Roxxxy and her creators at her debut at AVN 2010 this past January, and to me, the definition of a robot is a machine that is capable of movement, which is an area that Roxxxxxxxy was a wee bit deficient in. Macmil Cybernetics, on the other hand, have shown that they can create artificial partners that are quite capable of motion, and they’ve been around since 2008. Q.E.D.


Not bad, but make one that looks like Anne Hathaway, and I WILL BUY THREE

Sex Bots are a result of several years of research and development on specially engineered movements and countless hours testing materials. Our sexbot features life-like movements and has a specially formulated synthetic skin for a natural flesh-like feel. Sex Bots have various options such as radio remote control and/or interactive touch sensory so if you touch it correctly it will “turn on.” Both options are completely wireless except for a port to charge as easily as charging your cell phone.
taken from the site

As the videos could be seen as *cough* suggestive by some audiences — man, these ‘morals’ are slowing me down like no-one’s business — you should click this link here, to see them on Macmil Cybernetics’ official YouTube channel. And ladies/gay blokes, you’ll be pleased to know they don’t just make Gynoids, they make Androids as well! There is something for everyone. Well, within reason.

+ Much as how I’d mentioned in a previous post, there’s a bit of lag time between the Mecadoll models being available for purchase in Europe, and their availability for purchase in the States. So unless you buy direct from French distributor Dream Doll Creation, you might have to wait a number of months for Synth Creations, or as they’re now called, Mechadoll, to sell the brand new Chlea model. Although she might well be worth the wait.


ENDEARING POUT: included. EURO SHADES: not included

Much as how the CandyGirls I’d profiled above are… less encumbered by clothing… in their actual site galleries, so it goes with young Chlea. It’s sultry Continental lasses like her that make me wish I’d paid more attention in my gradeschool French classes. *sigh*

+ Have you been keeping up with the new faces that Abyss has for the RealDoll 2 line? Ever since their starting lineup of Michelle, Carmen, and Aimee, they’ve added a billion of them! And when I say ‘a billion’, obviously I mean ‘just three’.


Left, Laila; right, Victoria. Photos by Stacy Leigh

You’ve got Laila, Victoria, and Elena to choose from now, making your RealDoll selection that much more difficult. Think of it this way: were it not for me rethinking my decision at the last minute, Sidore might’ve ended up being a Body 5, Face 8 Stephanie-type! In an alternate universe, however, she is.
Think on that.

+ Another intersection of RealDolls and The Art World has taken place: a website by the name of California is a place was host to two projects related to the affictitious ladies from Abyss creations: one is a video essay by Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari entitled ‘Honey pie‘, with the other being a photo series by the Zackary half of the duo.

People may thoughtlessly disparage artificial companions as surreal or creepy, but there’s simply no denying that all Dolls have, at the very least, an undeniable artistic worth — art should provoke, after all.

+ Recently, the iDollator world has suffered the loss of two Synthetik companion brands — My Party Doll, by the company of the same name, and Lovable Dolls by KnightHorse. KnightHorse are still continuing to manufacture and sell their alluring Lovable Feet, but the loss of both brands is still highly regrettable. As someone who promotes the idea of Synthetik companions as a whole due to their beneficial effects, no matter what company they come from, events like this unfortunately reduce the different types of Dolls available to those in the iDollator community, as well as those looking to enter it, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Hell, I’m still sad that Chestnut co. Ltd’s Rare-Borg line no longer exists, and they stopped production years ago.
There’s an applicable saying the Buddhists have concerning the impermanence of all things, but I can’t seem to recall it at the moment.

+ Finally, as David Bowie once sang, it’s been fiiive years since Sidore’s site ‘Kitten with a Whip!’ has given her a significant online presence. We’re still working on resurrecting it — our biggest obstacle is a lack of funds with which to pay a coding bloke to get it started and finished — but in the interim, she now has one of them thar newfangled tumblr sites what the kids’re into these days, appropriately named ‘Synthetik week-end’. The name comes from when she’s on Twitter, usually at the week-ends; one of the things she does is load down the Twitter servers by posting pictures of Dolls and Gynoids, and she identifies those tweets with the hashtag #synthetikweekend. Try looking it up, and see what happens!
So justify my Missus’ efforts, and give ‘Synthetik week-end‘ a look-in! I’ve also linked it in the uppermost bar, right under the site banner, so you’ve no way of forgetting it exists. And why would you?

And now your brains are brimful of useful and relevant Doll information. Until the next installment, that is!
Happy 23rd! (ta very much to Luna Chase and Rayschro for some of the links)

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

'More human than human', after a fashion on June 21st, 2006

What Would Loki Do?, Part I on August 30th, 2006


Any Synthetiks-related news, Davecat? (Oct 2010)

typed for your pleasure on 16 October 2010, at 10.26 am

Sdtrk: ‘Noskl in Ana “Turntable mix”‘ by Masonna

Hello there! Would you like some long-delayed news about Dolls, Gynoids, and robotics in general? Yes, you would.

+ Initially, I didn’t get a chance to report on this — or rather, I had the chance, but I kinda put off doing so due to a bare-knuckle brawl between myself and my lazier nature — but you of course recall the stunning new affictitious beauty from Kokoro co. Ltd, by the name of Geminoid-F? Well, she’s been renamed Actroid-F, which makes more sense, consistency-wise. But that’s not the real important thing! Starting 11 November, she’ll be in a stageplay!


That Actroid-F’s got some nice legs on her

Following in the footsteps of Wakamaru and EveR-3, ATR and Kokoro Co. Ltd.’s Actroid-F (aka Geminoid-F) is starring alongside a human actress in a stage play called “Farewell”. The human-like android will get its voice from another (human) actress. The performance takes place November 10th ~ 11th in Ikebukuru [sic], Tokyo. The experimental play is part of Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro and Hirata Ojira’s ongoing “Robot Theater Project”, which began in 2008. The plays incorporate robots used at Osaka University and ATR Intelligent Robotics & Communication Lab to reveal the boundaries between humans and robots, while bringing together the arts and sciences.
taken from this site

Bryerly Long would be the other actress in the performance; she portrays a young woman with a terminal illness whose only company is a Gynoid that her parents have purchased her. A bit bleak, but there you are. Personally, I think the real test of both actresses’ skills were if the Organik were to play the part of the Gynoid, and Actroid-F was the dying woman…
If you happen to catch it in Tokyo next month, let me know how it goes! That is, if you can’t sneak a videocamera into the venue.

+ In the interest of presenting the opposing side of the pro-Synthetiks stance I champion all the time, this would be an article that addresses the topic that society may not yet be ready for humanoid robots. Unthinkable, yes, but like I’d said, I’m trying to do the equal time thing, here.

Poll Results: Humanoid Robots Unpopular…?

A 2008 survey suggests that people aren’t interested in robots that look like humans. The survey asked people at a home and living show about robots in daily life. Botjunkie took one look at the graphs and concluded that it isn’t a good idea to design robots that look like people. What the graphs and paper do not show is that there is a range of humanoid robots, from ones that look realistic to ones that have abstract human features.

[…] Naturally people don’t want robots to do the jobs they feel require a human touch, such as taking care of the kids, or that are considered above mechanical work, such as cooking and driving, though paradoxically they do want robots to take care of them when they get old.
the entire article is here

See, I’ll grant that a lot of people aren’t exactly comfortable with the possible so-called ‘uncanny valley’ effect that humanoid robots may have, but the thing that gets me is that there are quite a few factors at play that the poll fails to address.
One, the ‘resistance to technological progress’ factor. These are people who, if it were 1875, would grow beet red violently insisting that man would never set foot on the Moon. These are people who state that everything society needs has already been invented, and we can draw a line under it now that it’s 2010. If the group that were polled are mostly composed of people with that mentality, you’re going to get some skewed answers. If you were to ask me, as an example, questions about, say, rap music, my answers would be mostly in the negative, as I don’t like rap. Obviously you can’t run polls that cater to the audience, as it’s counterproductive, but the Botjunkie post stated that it was held at a home and living exhibition. Chances are, you’re not going to find a tremendous amount of futurists at an event like that.
Two, there are those that are initially resistant to technological progress, but when they see whatever it is in action, they eventually grow to think of it in a reasonable manner, and might well reach a point where they can’t live without whatever initially offended their sensibilities. It’s like people who have fight tooth and nail against moving someplace they initially don’t want to, and you ask them about it a year later, and they insist they love it at their new place and would never leave.
Three, there’s always the factor that most Western societies are founded on the christian ‘man cannot play god’ philosophy, whereas other cultures don’t necessarily follow suit. I’ve mentioned previously about why Japan is more enthusiastic about robots, due in part to their animist leanings — they don’t have the stigma of ‘robots will rise up against their masters and kill all humans’ as they see it as amusing fiction. I’ve also mentioned previously that I should probably move to Japan.
Four — and this is the one answer I always end up repeating — detractors always expect whatever technology to be absolutely bug-free and perfect right out of the gate, which the Windows operating system alone should have taught us all that that’s a pretty ridiculous expectation. If a humanoid robot — whose appearance might still be under development — doesn’t look exactly like an Organik human, they consider it an aesthetic failure. If you watch a video of Osaka University Labs’ Repliee Q1 from 2004, and compare her to her sister Actroid F, previously mentioned in this post, there’s a noticable difference. With that in mind, something like an artificial humanoid should be given a free pass until the artistry behind the appearance gets progressively better.
Hah. Now I’m getting beet red.

+ Back to sensibility: admittedly, the only thing by Ray Bradbury I’ve ever read would be ‘Dandelion wine’ back in high school, which I thought was godawful. On the other hand, the man is a futurist who apparently spins a good yarn about robits, or so I’m told. In this response letter he’d written in 1975 to an author by the name of Brian Sibley, Bradbury attends to Brian’s, and by extension, many people’s, groundless fear of robots:

P.S. Can’t resist commenting on you fears of the Disney robots. Why aren’t you afraid of books, then? The fact is, of course, that people have been afraid of books, down through history. They are extensions of people, not people themselves. Any machine, any robot, is the sum total of the ways we use it. Why not kknock down all robot camera devices and the means for reproducing the stuff that goes into such devices, things called projectors in theatres? A motion picture projector is a non-humanoid robot which repeats truths which we inject into it. Is it inhuman? Yes. Does it project human truths to humanize us more often than not? Yes.

The excuse could be made that we should burn all books because some books are dreadful.

We should mash all cars because some cars get in accidents because of the people driving them.

We should burn down all the theatres in the world because some films are trash, drivel.

So it is finally with the robots you say you fear. Why fear something? Why not create with it? Why not build robot teachers to help out in schools where teaching certain subjects is a bore for EVERYONE? Why not have Plato sitting in your Greek Class answering jolly questions about his Republic? I would love to experiment with that. I am not afraid of robots. I am afraid of people, people, people. I want them to remain human. I can help keep them human with the wise and lovely use of books, films, robots, and my own mind, hands, and heart.
the entire article is here

Profound is a shockingly inadequate way to describe what he’s said, but it’ll have to do.

+ This bit of relevance was submitted by alert readers Wolfgang and Via Kalí at near-simultaneous speeds from their respective countries of Japan and Austria: science is bringing us closer to artificial skin that can feel.

Robotics breakthrough: Scientists make artificial skin
by Richard Ingham | Sun Sep 12, 3:35 pm ET

PARIS (AFP) – Biotech wizards have engineered electronic skin that can sense touch, in a major step towards next-generation robotics and prosthetic limbs.

The lab-tested material responds to almost the same pressures as human skin and with the same speed, they reported in the British journal Nature Materials.

Important hurdles remain but the exploit is an advance towards replacing today’s clumsy robots and artificial arms with smarter, touch-sensitive upgrades, they believe.

“Humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it,” said Ali Javey, an associate professor of computer sciences at the University of California at Berkeley, who led one of the research teams.

“If we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we’d want to make sure it doesn’t break the wine glasses in the process. But we’d also want the robot to grip the stock pot without dropping it.”
the rest of the article is here

Obviously, it’ll be a couple of decades before we have robots that have as responsive skin as we Organiks do, but it’s encouraging to know that progress is being made.
I have to say, though: I snickered at the use of the term ‘biotech wizards’ in the opening sentence, as it reminded me of the famous Arthur C. Clarke quote, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’. Also, it made me think of blokes wearing lab coats and pointed hats with stars and moons embroidered on them.

+ Now, taking the same forward-thinking attitude of Mr Bradbury, combined with the artificial skin advancements mentioned above, we have to ask ourselves, what if the humanoid robots in question resembled someone appealing? Someone like, say, that delightful Christina Hendricks? Would small-minded Organiks still fear them?
I for one would welcome our busty ginger Gynoid overlords. But that’s a given.

+ And as I’ve started this post speaking about Actroid-F’s stunning acting debut, it turns out that South Korea’s EveR-3 actually beat her to the punch, way back in February!


Korean Gynoid Snow White, on a Segway

Robot to take starring roles in S.Korea plays
(AFP) – Feb 9, 2010

SEOUL — A South Korean-developed robot that played to acclaim in “Robot Princess and the Seven Dwarfs” is set for more leading theatre roles this year, a scientist said Wednesday.

EveR-3 (Eve Robot 3) starred in various dramas last year including the government-funded “Dwarfs” which attracted a full house, said Lee Ho-Gil, of the state-run Korea Institute of Industrial Technology.

The lifelike EveR-3 is 157 centimetres (five feet, two inches) tall, can communicate in Korean and English, and can express a total of 16 facial expressions — without ever forgetting her lines.

Lee acknowledged that robot actresses find it hard to express the full gamut of emotions and also tend to bump into props and fellow (human) actors.

But he said a thespian android was useful in promoting the cutting-edge industry.

“South Korea is an active frontier in developing robots and we thought that making it would be a good way to promote our technology,” Lee told AFP.
the rest of the article is here

This would be the second time EveR-3’s trod the boards — perhaps she can teach Actroid-F a thing or two. That is, if Actroid-F can suppress her giggling at the fact that EveR-3 rolls about on wheels, instead of actually walking from place to place. Don’t judge.

Right; that’s it for this half! As I seem to have gone a couple of months between posting these — why didn’t you lot tell me?? — I had to break it up, otherwise people would be even less likely to read it. As you’ve seen, this installment dealt with robotics-related topics, so the other post will focus more on Dolls. And fret not; it’s already written. Yay!
Watch this space! Whatever you do, don’t take your eyes off this space

Technorati tags: Android, Gynoid, robot, Synthetiks, iDollators,
Kokoro Co. Ltd., Geminoid F, Actroid F, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Osaka University Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, uncanny valley, Animism, Repliee Q1, Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine, Brian Sibley, Arthur C. Clarke, Christina Hendricks, Broken Bells, KiTECH, EveR-3

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

Miss, your arm's ringing on February 3rd, 2007

yes, more of that cute Actroid-chan on March 16th, 2006


Nouns are trickier for some people than they are for others

typed for your pleasure on 23 June 2010, at 1.52 am

Sdtrk: ‘Gate’ by E&E

As one of my heroes, Oscar Wilde, famously quipped, ‘The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about’. Generally that’s a statement I’d agree with, as discussion (good or bad) prevents a person and the cause(s) they uphold from lapsing into complete obscurity, but you’ll note I said ‘generally’.

A friend of mine brought to my attention an online forum that was having a go at iDollators, as a number of forums often do, and due to the numerous media appearances that I’ve put in with my affictitious wife Sidore, one of the posters referred to me as a ‘famemonger’. For some reason that really rankled me, cos it implies, for one, that people such as the poster prefer that Doll lovers remain underground and are a group best left ignored. On a more personal level, describing me as a ‘famemonger’ is exactly the same as describing outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins as a ‘famemonger’. Or futurist David Levy. Or someone like… Oscar Wilde, as another example.

The reason Shi-chan and I choose to appear on assorted telly, print, and online interviews isn’t for recognition’s sake. Well, yeah, part of it is for the fame, but it’s not as if I’ve gone up a couple of tax brackets because of it*, but we primarily do them to attempt to explain and dispel any misconceptions people may have about Doll owners. Obviously, it’s impossible for me to speak for every iDollator — like any cultural group, our members are similar, but not necessarily the same — but neither Shi-chan nor I have heard any complaints from our community so far.

Think of it like this: each time a film or telly crew asks after Sidore and I, I attempt to get to know a wee bit about the aim of their programme before I say yes. American productions I’m especially curious as to what their goal is, as most programming from the US usually tries to show anything Doll-related in a prurient, ‘hey-check-out-these-weirdos’ light. People who don’t habitually read ‘Shouting etc etc’ are often surprised when I point out that Geraldo‘s come a-courtin’, or Springer, or Tyra, or Maury, or Alan Colmes, or Dr Phil. If I truly were a famemonger, I would’ve not only said yes to Geraldo et al, I would be actively trying to shoehorn my way onto any and all chat shows, magazines, etc etc. But as a person who’s doing his best to get the general public to see that artificial companions aren’t just for sex, obviously I want to be as careful as I can be when choosing what venues we participate in.

As far as my presence on the Internet goes, I don’t really go out of my way to promote myself. I have a Myspace page that I’m genuinely ashamed of, but I only have it for a specific reason, and I loathe Facebook more than is probably healthy. When I leave our flat to go places, I don’t announce where I’m going until I’ve left wherever it is I’ve been, cos I do occasionally get recognised. Zip Gun, SafeT, and I saw Zoos of Berlin perform in Pontiac in late March — a hell of a show, I might add; they were better than I thought they were, and I already liked them before I saw them — and in between the other acts that were on before Zoos of Berlin, I was spotted on three separate occasions. I don’t want to say that I don’t enjoy meeting people, it’s just that I’m still getting used to the concept of people asking if I was on telly, let alone the idea of me being on telly in the first place. And since I never was the type to stride up to a stranger and greet them before we started making our media appearances, people doing the same to me does freak me out a tiny bit. I’m attempting to get used to it, though.

Essentially, describing me a ‘famemonger’ is rather off-base; unfortunately, most members of the iDollator community go out of their way to not publicise who they are, due to fear of the reaction of their friends, family, or peers. As a result, the non-iDollator public often see the same faces over and over — Everhard’s, Gordon Griggs’, and my own. It’s not a case of graaah we’re doing this for the adulation yeaaahh, but more like we’re doing this cos it works for us, and we’re more than happy to suggest this idea to others, cos no-one else is.
Like it or not, people have to realise that Synthetik partners, whether they’re highly-detailed ‘love dolls’, or servo-driven Androids and Gynoids, are the future, and the more advanced they become, the more people will be likely to choose the Synthetik option, whether to satisfy curiosity, or to dispel loneliness, or what-have-you. Detractors would rather not have anyone speaking publically about the fact their partner is affictitious, as they find it uncomfortable for whatever ill-conceived reason, and would prefer the topic swept under the rug entirely. When it’s a case of a few voices speaking on behalf of many, it’s easier to try to discredit those voices through rumour, slander, and ignorance. It seems the obvious solution, really, is to increase the number of pro-Synthetik voices…

So yeah! Representative, yes; famemonger, no. There’s actually quite a vast difference between the two definitions that’s worth looking into

*not counting all the bling and bitches we’ve been stockpiling. Literally stockpiling. We’ve got a room where we have our daily shipment of bitches stacked like cordwood, for better storage. The bling, though, we just throw in a pile

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

Buy a tiny Gynoid, watch a Doll on telly on November 13th, 2012

Hoorej for Synthetiks on October 5th, 2006


Any Synthetiks-related news, Davecat? (Jun 2010)

typed for your pleasure on 4 June 2010, at 3.52 am

Sdtrk: ‘Riverside’ by Sandy Simpson

Man o man. What happened to the May edition, you may or may not be asking? Well, Shi-chan’s new and incredibly distracting body happened, that’s what. *loosens collar* By the by, did either of us mention that she was featured in the Spring 2010 issue of The Doll Street Journal, found on the News page of the Abyss creations website? Sidore’s got a wee bit of cache, you see. It’s true!

+ Speaking of Abyss creations, now they’re in Japan! Well, moreso than usual. It appears that now Japanese iDollators have a licenced distributor from which to purchase RealDolls and Boy Toy Dolls from, located in a modest little storefront in the Nakano ward of metropolitan Tokyo. Interesting enough as that is — at first, I was like ‘well, that’s not really news; Abyss already has a Japanese distributor‘ — but what sent my eyebrows ascending was that apparently, some sort of deal was sealed with longtime silicone companion sculptor, Natori Saito. If you’re an iDollator, you’ll know him as the bloke who designed the Mai face, aka Face 9. If you’re an old-school iDollator, you’ll remember him from the days when he was making the Photogenic Dolls line. Yep, that Natori. He’s designed two faces for Boy Toy and one for RealDoll, so I suppose he’s been busy.


photo courtesy of ‘Ta-bo’s Kisekae Dataroom’

You can check out the site here, but 95% of it is in Japanese, and if you can’t read it, you more than likely won’t be buying a Doll through them. But those obstacles probably won’t stop you, won’t they? I didn’t think so.

+ So my tall mate Wolfgang hepped me to this: I-Fairy robot weds Japanese couple. I like where this is going!

I-Fairy robot weds Japanese couple
Jay Alabaster and agencies, Tokyo | guardian.co.uk, Sunday 16 May 2010 16.30 BST

Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

The nuptials at this ceremony were led by I-Fairy, a 4ft seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. The wedding today was the first to be led by a robot, according to the manufacturer, Kokoro.

“Please lift the bride’s veil,” the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of about 50 guests.

The ceremony took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park, central Tokyo. The I-Fairy wore a wreath of flowers, and wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain nearby where a man crouched and clicked commands into a computer.

Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with the government actively supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard, and recently companies have been making a push to inject robots into everyday life.
the rest of the article is here

Hrrm… the Missus and I want to renew our vows for our ten year anniversary in July — could we possibly rent I-Fairy to do the honours, or would we have to fly out to her? Hrrm…

+ It looks like we may be losing not one, but two, Doll manufacturers. As of this writing, the website for Axis Japan, makers of the famous Honey Dolls series, has been down for several days. Which has happened before, but when you consider their news page hasn’t been updated since 2009, it’s cause for alarm. Honey Dolls were especially noteworthy, as they were the first to have embedded touch-sensors that played back .mp3 responses, but Odhinn only knows how their sales were, as I never saw a single owner pic of any of their four model types anywhere. And I can assure you that I check the Doll sites like a hawk…
And on the front page of the My Party Doll site, the phrase ‘OWNER RETIRING Interested parties, please inquire’ can be seen. As far as I’m concerned, the loss of any group that makes artificial companions is truly a shame. Technically, I’m still not over the fact that Chestnut co. Ltd., makers of the Rare-Borg line of silicone companions, has packed it in, and that was several years ago. With any luck, both groups will rise from the ashes, as it were, but who can say…
UPDATE (12 JUNE 2010): The Honey Dolls site is back up! Undoubtedly an extended server hiccup. It can happen to any one of us! Especially if you are a server.

+ Thanks to his long-standing work in the field of robotic humanoid developments, starting with the Repliee series, all the way to the sexier-with-each-new-version Actroid series, Hiroshi Ishiguro has been illuminating a path for mankind to follow out of the dark ages. But apart from the whole Android and Gynoid thing, he seems like the sort of bloke I can identify with, particularly after reading this article from IEEE Spectrum.


‘What’s that, me? What did you just say? I mean, what did I just say??
Shit, this is confusing’

Hiroshi Ishiguro stomps on the accelerator. The black Mazda RX-8 roars onto the highway, the heavy-metal Scorpions blasting from the speakers. We’re driving to Osaka University’s Toyonaka Campus. Ishiguro is wearing aviator sunglasses, black polyester pants, a black vest on top of a black shirt, along with a black belt, socks, and shoes.

”Give me question,” he says, his eyes fixed on the road.

I ask whether he always dresses in black.

”Why do you change your clothes?” he says. ”Do you change your name? So why do you change your clothes? Name is identity. Face is identity. But the majority of your [appearance] comes from your clothes. You should not change your clothes. Do you agree?”

I meekly suggest that all-black attire might get a bit hot in the summer.

”We have air conditioners,” he says. ”Next question.”
the entire article is here

The film ‘Surrogates‘ touched upon the whole concept of telepresence, and this man is making it a reality. Not to say that he’s the only person doing so, but Ishiguro is the only one making really bold strides as regards to building telepresence robots that resemble human beings. Clearly, we need more of this man. O wait — he’s already working on that!
There’s even a microsite with a wee bit of information on Geminoid HI-1 right here. Now if only they could do the same with that luscious Geminoid F
That was a hint, by the way.

+ And as dreadfully hot as it’s been here in Michigan, I’m sure it’s not much better in Californiyay, where 85°F is considered ‘a good start’. However, being out of doors in the SoCal area gives a person the rare opportunity to catch KnightHorse out and about, taking pics of and showing off their stunning lasses. So it’s kind of a trade-off!…


Sayuri, being flirtatious/distracting

For years Matt has felt that dolls should be loved, appreciated and displayed proudly. One of his focuses in the business is to bring dolls out of the closet, demystify them, and have doll owners de-vilified! So many media outlets go for the “easy kill” and focus on the shock factor of these dolls. The only angle most journalists are interested in is the sexual function of the dolls. Well, to us, these dolls are much more than sex dolls. […] To date we have been to numerous public venues and never once had a negative encounter.

See, that’s the sort of thing I love to hear about — seeing a beautifully-sculpted work of art such as a Doll as a mere sex toy is incredibly narrow-minded. It’s ace that Matt K and crew are bringing their lovely ladies out for some fresh air and sightseeing, as well as spreading public awareness that Dolls aren’t creepy or unsettling; they are in fact wonderful and appealing. And depending on how imaginative a person you are, they can be even more than that…
Besides, did you see Sayuri’s arse up there? I mean, dayum!

Well, I do believe that’s covered the lot for now! Join us next time, for more of the same

Random similar posts, for more timewasting:

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DER2-chan's latest job: political spokesperson on April 8th, 2007


Any Synthetiks-related news, Davecat? (Apr 2010)

typed for your pleasure on 6 April 2010, at 3.25 am

Sdtrk: ‘Formal is at noon’ by Zoos of Berlin

Man o man. What happened to the March edition, you may or may not be asking? Err, I got sidetracked and waylaid by a number of things, you could say, and the news continued to pile up unattended, like rolls of newspapers on the front porch of a dead man. Not all of these things were bad though; hopefully I should be able to note the results on ‘Shouting etc etc’ rather soon, and with not a small amout of glee.
Anyway, enough excuses. Off we go!

+ Just learned of this superfantastisch tidbit last night, which answers the question of what Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro has been up to lately — he’s been busy making sexy Gynoids again. Good!

Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro unveiled today his latest creation: a female android called Geminoid F. The new robot, a copy of a woman in her 20s with long dark hair, can laugh, smile, and exhibit other facial expressions more naturally than Ishiguro’s previous androids.

Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University, is famous for creating a robot replica of himself, the Geminoid HI-1, a teleoperated android that he controls remotely. The new Geminoid F (“F” stands for female) is also designed to be remote controlled by an operator. […]

Whereas the Geminoid HI-1 has some 50 actuators, the new Geminoid F has just 12. What’s more, the HI-1 robot requires a large external box filled with compressors and valves. With Geminoid F, the researchers embedded air servo valves and an air servo control system into its body, so the android requires only a small external compressor.

The new design helped reduce the android’s cost. According to this AFP report, Kokoro will sell copies of Geminoid F for about 10 million yen (US $110,000). Ishiguro and his collaborators plan to test the android in hospitals and also show it off at science museums and other venues.
the rest of the article is here

Since Geminoid F is more teleoperated, she seems to be closer to a real-life Surrogate rather than a genuine Gynoid, but that’s quite alright. And the fact that they’ve reduced the number of servos needed — probably due to the fact that she’s not a genuine Gynoid — is very encouraging. Can’t wait to see more footage of her in action! Geminoid F’s debut is also rather amusing, as she bears a passing resemblance to a friend of mine in Vienna

+ Another Doll-centric fine art gallery showing has come and gone: from February to March, Galerie [SAS] in Montréal was host to artist Jean-François Bouchard‘s latest photoseries, entitled ‘Still Life’.


Imagine having one of those prints for your wall. I am

Not only does it feature assorted close-up shots of RealDolls and glimpses of the Abyss studio, but the photos are accompanied by various iDollator quotes taken from ‘Guys and Dolls / Love me, love my Doll’. Why do these exhibits never pass through SE Michigan??

+ Meet Hanako Showa, a Gynoid empoyed to train dental students in Japan:


Don’t worry; they’ll give her a couple of pencil-toppers when they’re done

Doctors and robotics researchers on Thursday unveiled a humanoid that happily goes under the drill for orthodontics students and can also express pain, roll her eyes and even drool like a real patient.

“Hello,” female-looking “Hanako” said cheerfully as an aspiring dentist closed in during a presentation in Tokyo. “Please take care of me.”

But the robo-patient’s mood can quickly take a real-life turn for the worse if the grinding and drilling get too much or the wrong spot is hit.

“It hurts,” said Hanako, dangerously moving her plastic head while a dental student was grinding her resin teeth, which are designed to be taken out and examined later to assess the student’s skill.
the rest of the article is here

Ha ha! Looks like even Gynoids aren’t exempt from visiting the dentist now! Now they can go through what… wait, didn’t I write this before? Actually, yes; yes I did, only the Gynoid in question was Simroid, a lass made by Kokoro co. Ltd. So my question is, what does tmsuk‘s affictitious lass bring to the dental table that’s different? Can we get a side-by-side comparison of them? Sit them both in dental chairs and go over why they need to floss more regularly? We have questions, and the answers aren’t forthcoming enough.
Now rinse and spit, please. IN THE BOWL AND NOT ON ME, PLEASE

+ Industrious Japanese dutch-wife manufacturers 4woods are rather like what independent record label 4AD were like back in the Eighties up to the early Nineties; they simply could do no wrong with whatever they released. Also, both companies contain the number four. Coincidence??


In a few minutes, she’ll get up and start sleepwalking again

If you liked their Lilica-type — and who wouldn’t? — now, those of you lucky enough to have her in your lives and beds can now equip her with a Sleeping Lilica head! Cos studies show that you simply sleep better when you’re able to close your eyes. In addition to that, 4woods mention that they’ve reduced the weight on their A.I.Doll Evolution body to 66 lbs. I approve!
They’ve also added delicious new photos of Lilica with A.I.Peach New edition body, an exclusive gallery of pics taken by Japanese photographer Mon-san, and a helpful page about Doll options, construction, and similar ephemera. Well done, lads and lasses!

+ Emmet, a Canadian playwright who has popped round this blog a couple of times, is in the midst of writing one hundred tiny plays, and compiling the lot on her site, 100 Tiny Plays. A convenient name, wouldn’t you agree? Play No.6, sporting the theme of ‘Tired Old Twin Fetish Breakfast Party Time‘, just happens to be about two Gynoid ‘sisters’. Ah heh-hem.

CHANDRA: What do you do without me?

SANDRA: There is so much space on the stage. Abigail has given me solo programs for the time being, but they are empty to me. Maybe some are designed for this, but me, I was made to hold a sister’s hand, to kiss a sister’s cheek, to feel a sister’s boot on my back. Alone, I sense the room is full of things that are not you. There are exit signs which flash and floorboards which creak and a pole which is there when you use it and also when you do not. And the crowd: a hundred humans with faces that read bored, turned on, preoccupied — to the varying degrees. All things that I was not built to ignore or to address, when all I always had to know was where you and I were, and how to navigate the space between in the next moment.

As it is a tiny play, it should be relatively easy to stage. Find a pair of twins, get them to choose a character and memorise her lines, and direct them to ACT! like they’ve never acted before. I’m sure Emmet would appreciate it!

+ So it appears that the husband-and-wife team from Vladivostok that comprise Anatomical Doll offer both a new head and a new body type that I think might well pique your interest…


Now made with Extra Legginess

Oksana, the lovely lady shown above, is their Body 2 Face 5 Doll. The new Body 2 comes in at 5’2″, 62 lbs, and boasting impressive measurements of 36.25.35. For an artificial lass hailing from one of the coldest countries on Earth, she certainly knows how to smoulder…

+ Naturally, you more than likely know by now about Abyss creations’ new Wicked RealDolls line, right, thanks to my mentioning it in part 1 of the ‘I burped at Vegas’ series? Of course you do, as you are Hep, With-it, and Aware. But for those squares *makes square shape in air with fingers* that aren’t, you’ll want to dig this site, daddy-o. Sorry; I’ve no idea where the beatnik speech came from.


Jessica and Alektra, as photographed by Stacy Leigh

Each Wicked RealDoll comes standard with the following upgraded features and bonuses:

* Our new articulated spine, which allows for completely realistic and natural torso positioning and range of motion.
* The most current techniques in advanced RD weight reduction
* The new removable deep throat mouth insert, which features a canal which goes down the throat of the doll verses straight back into the head, for up to 7″ of penetration.
* Full head design, without magnets or velcro. All components are modular for easy replacement and cleaning/maintenance
* A numbered certificate of authenticity signed by the actress
* A bonus package from Wicked: Details coming soon.

Worth keeping an eye on/saving up for? Yes.

+ Have you checked out the Private Island Beauties website lately? You might wanna do that, as there’s a link to a new YouTube interview with the man behind the gorgeous rubbery Beauties, Patrick Wise. Or you could just watch it here! (NSFW, as there is a Doll boob toward the end)

You’ll still want to browse round his site, though, as that’s the nice thing to do.

+ Before the month is over, get round to your nearest bookseller and pick up a copy of the March issue of Bizarre UK, as it features a one-and-a-half page article about this year’s AVN that concentrates mostly on Lovable Dolls! In the Grand Tradition of Magazine Publishing, you’ll especially want to hurry, as they publish the next month’s issue this month. But at my Barnes & Noble, I found last month’s issue this month, so I don’t know how that works. Someone’s at fault, and it’s not me.

+ And Synthetik news aggregator blog spurtBOT is unfortunately no more. Citing a lack of advertising interest, the site maintainer’s packed it in after two years. Well, not so much ‘packed it in’ but ‘changed tack’; now the site is an ever-growing booklist of erotic… booklists. You can grab an archive file of all the previous spurtBOT posts here, if you’re so inclined, however. SpurtBOT is dead. Long live spurtBOT.

Well, I do believe this post should make up for last month’s no-show, right? That’s what I thought

Technorati tags: Android, Gynoid, robot, Synthetiks, iDollators, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Geminoid F, Surrogates, Jean-François Bouchard, Abyss Creations, RealDolls, Guys and Dolls, Love Me, Love My Doll, Hanako, tmsuk, Kokoro Co. Ltd., 4woods, 4AD, Anatomical Doll, Wicked Pictures, Alektra Blue, Jessica Drake, Stacy Leigh, Private Island Beauties, Patrick Wise, 4AD, Bizarre UK, KnightHorse, Lovable Dolls


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