Actroid
Kokoro
She hasn't passed the Turing test, but this android receptionist can meet, greet, and entertain humans. Resembling a young Japanese woman, she understands common phrases in English and Japanese – and she replies with canned rejoinders and appropriate gestures and facial expressions. Actroid even has an animatronic sense of humor: Just ask her if she's a robot. Word has it that she'll respond with "YES – I – AM – A – ROBOT" in stereotypical monotone, accompanied by a series of jerky, mechanical movements. (This robot does the Robot!) Then she'll gather herself and, with a coy "Just kidding," get back to the business of acting eerily human. In fact, if you're in need of an unflappable, low-maintenance nanny, Actroid is also designed to play with kids.
First Robotics Competition
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
Founded by Segway inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST stages math, science, and tech matches to encourage kids to pursue careers in those fields. The exhibition games at NextFest showcase the winning work of students who, with volunteer mentors, custom-designed robots to compete in the annual contest.
Partner Ballroom Dance Robots Tohoku University These fem-bots' dance cards are never full – and they don't complain if you have two left feet. For just over $300,000, researchers at the Kosuge and Wang Lab developed two battery-powered prototypes with force and torque sensors capable of anticipating and matching their partners' waltz steps. In the future, the technology could be used for more practical tasks, like assisting the infirm and elderly with walking.
Robotic Hand
University of Tsukuba
This dexterous prototype learns movement as an infant might, by watching and mimicking human behavior. Guided by a "vision system" that imitates wireframe images at 150 frames per second, the hand can pinch, pick up delicate objects, and talk in sign language. Ultimately, the robopaw will have skin-soft pressure sensors that enable it to write with a pen and use chopsticks.
NextFest
