It can crouch on its belly, strut around and wag its tail, do tricks like picking up the plastic bone with its mouth or lifting its paws. Like the original model, it responds to a pink ball and a pink plastic bone, to voices and to petting. In theory, it could, with time and work, develop its canine artificial intelligence.Īibo has a high-pitched electronic “bark,” but can’t otherwise talk. Sony says its “heart,” more aptly its brain, is in an internet “cloud” service that serves as Aibo’s memory. It can cock its head and sway its hips at more varied, subtle angles. The improved Aibo has more natural looking eyes, thanks to advanced OLED, or organic light-emitting diodes. The Japanese maker of the PlayStation video game consoles pulled the plug on Aibo 12 years ago, drawing an outcry from global fans. Sony Corp.’s Aibo robot dog is back with all its disarming and unpredictable charm.
#Japan war robot driver#
It now connects to the latest Prius hybrid, placed in a special dock that links to car navigation, but only has basic functions like reminding the driver to turn off the headlights. POTENTIAL: Toyota is considering connecting Kirobo to car-navigation and smart-driving capabilities. SIZE: 10 centimeters (4 inches) height seated 183 grams (6.5 ounces) in weight. IQ ASSESSMENT: Much more intelligent than a windup toy. It turns itself off if told to go to sleep, but only after politely asking: “Please play with me again.” Teaching Isaku a short song took some patience. “Isaku has learned one more thing about Yuri today,” it says in a high-pitched electronic voice. I got it to use facial recognition to call me by my name, Yuri, and to say “War is bad, isn’t it?” I rented Kirobo for two months and named it after my son, Isaku.
#Japan war robot software#
Such functions are managed through a smartphone app that updates its software periodically so Kirobo Mini will get “smarter” - growing up, so-to-speak. The robot understands only Japanese so far, but can be programmed to recognize your name and the name you give it. It turns its head toward a speaking voice, its saucer-like eyes glowing, sometimes asking inane questions like: “People? What are people?” Its name combines the word for “hope,” or “kibo,” and “robot.” And it’s designed for cuteness, wiggling seated on its behind, jiggling its arms. It’s apt to repeat phrases like, “I missed that can you say that again?” and “Hmmmmm. That led to the deployment of the mechanical wolves.Toyota Motor Corp.’s Kirobo Mini is small enough to fit in your hand and looks like a child clad in a space outfit. Three days before, the city government had received reports of a bear cub in the same area, according to local reports.
14, some residents told city officials they could “see a bear from the window” of their home. The recent attacks, including two fatal ones, led to an emergency government meeting last month to tackle the threat, according to local media reports.īrown bears had been rarely seen in Takikawa - about one every few years - but residents have reported about 10 sightings in the city this year, Mr. A number of attacks this year have left residents injured or killed, and bears have been shot dead. No more sightings of rummaging bears have been reported since the robo-wolves showed up.īear sightings in the wild have reached a five-year high across Japan in recent months, according to official figures. Takikawa’s gambit seems to have been a roaring success, Hiroki Kondo, a city official, said. That way, bears wouldn’t get used to the sound, according to Shuji Sasaki, director of Wolf Kamuy, the company in charge of the mechanical wolf’s sales and maintenance. The screech can travel about a kilometer, and it comes in more than 60 varieties, including a dog’s bark, a hunter’s voice and gunshots. With fake fur, bared fangs and flashing red eyes, the wolf turns its head from side to side and makes howling, screeching sounds when its motion detectors are triggered.