/ News
Humanoid Robot Robi to Launch in Hong Kong
Robi, a humanoid robot that can chat and control your TV, will be available in Hong Kong later this month, its fifth market after Japan, Italy, Taiwan and the U.K.
Standing 34-centimeters tall, the one-kilogram Robi was created by Japanese inventor Tomotaka Takahashi. Robi’s eyes light up and change colors to show emotions when it interacts with humans. With a bunch of sensors, Robi can dance to the rhythm of the music, play football and even clean the dirty floor.
Takahashi, a big fan of robot comics, said he always wanted to make his own robot when he was a kid.
“To me, robot is my friend and he has life. I hope to foster a close relationship between robots and human beings,” said Takahashi, who is a research associate professor with the University of Tokyo.
He said Robi could also assist in the kitchen by keeping track of cooking time. The infrared transmitter on Robi’s body allows it to also switch the television on and off or change channels without using a remote control.
Takahashi claims Robi takes more than 250 commands and Hong Kong’s version would speak Cantonese. For other markets, there are also localized versions that speak Japanese, English, Italian and Mandarin.
But robot fans have to be patient as they have to buy all 70 issues of a weekly magazine that comes with the parts to assemble a Robi, according to Italian publisher De Agostini.
The magazine publisher plans to bring Robi to the U.S. and other European markets later but it has no definite timetable for the new markets yet, said Yujin Kimura, a product manager at De Agostini .
De Agostini has started selling the weekly magazine that includes parts for Robi in Japan since February 2012 but the company declined to disclose the total sales worldwide.
Robi’s sales have been doing well, said Takahashi, who receives royalties from De Agostini based on the sales.
The robot creator has also worked with Panasonic, Toyota and Japan’s International Space Station on some robotic projects such as Kirobo, a robot that engages in conversations with Japanese astronaut.
Despite being approached by many venture capital investors, Takahashi said he wants to remain an independent inventor.
“I don’t need so much money as I just want to make something cool. All I need is a small laboratory and some tools that can turn my ideas into prototypes,” said Takahashi.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/14/humanoid-robot-robi-to-launch-in-hong-kong/
/ About us
Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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