Part of the attraction for SoftBank is the knowledge they gathered about the psychological attraction of anthropomorphic robots. Here is a picture of the Pepper robot that the FT's Izabella Kaminska took at a big robot show back in 2013:
Awwww.
Or not.
My reaction at the time:
Anthropomorphic/biomimetic robots creep me out.Spot the Dog is even worse.
There, I said it.
From Reuters, May 8:
Roaming 'robodog' politely tells Singapore park goers to keep apart
Far from barking its orders, a robot dog enlisted by Singapore authorities to help curb coronavirus infections in the city-state politely asks joggers and cyclists to stay apart.Here is the official announcement from the Government of Singapore:
The remote-controlled, four-legged machine built by Boston Dynamics was first deployed in a central park on Friday as part of a two-week trial that could see it join other robots policing Singapore’s green spaces during a nationwide lockdown.
“Let’s keep Singapore healthy,” the yellow and black robodog named SPOT said in English as it roamed around. “For your own safety and for those around you, please stand at least one metre apart. Thank you,” it added, in a softly-spoken female voice.
Despite the niceties, breaches of Singapore’s strict lockdown rules can result in hefty fines and even jail....MORE
NParks and SNDGG trial SPOT robot for safe distancing operations at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park
This is the latest iteration of Spot via c|net's YouTube channel in October 2019:
Finally, here's Boston Dynamics' Parkour robot.
When I showed this video to a young lady last year, a young lady who is a gymnast and sports an I.Q. of around 160 her only comment was: "They're going to take over".
I think she liked the "Ta da!" at the end though.
