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Fujitsu Teddy Bear Robot Prototype Spotted
A friendly teddy bear robot prototype is being shown off by Fujitsu. According to researchers, the intent is to comfort its human owners.
Fujitsu "plans to test the robot in nursing homes so that it can entertain and soothe elderly people," said the researcher.
The little teddy bear robot can be held comfortably in the crook of one's arm, where the camera in the nose of the bear is in good position to detect the faces and actions of the humans nearby. The bearbot can respond with more than 300 different actions of its own, like waving its paw and laughing. It can even snore convincingly.
"We want to offer an object that can become part of the family, nursing home or school and that can benefit humans," a Fujitsu researcher told AFP during the sneak preview. "We really want it to look natural."
(Fujitsu teddy bear robot)
This Fujitsu prototype is not the only example. For example, MIT researchers introduced Huggable, an endearing robotic bearbot companion (see the Huggable video.
SF fans are patient, and often get what their favorite writers dream about. For example, Harry Harrison wrote about a teddy bear robot in his 1965 short story I Always Do What Teddy Says:
"Let me go... let me go!" the teddy bear said with a hopeless shrill.
(Find out what happens next to Harrison's teddy bear robot)
Other examples include Teddy from Brian Aldiss' 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long and Purza the Pukha from Anne McCaffrey's 1990 novel The Rowan.
Via AFP.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/4/2010)
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