Shall We Play a Game?

18 responses to “Shall We Play a Game?”

1. 

   heet_myser

   Jan 13, 2009 at 9:05 pm

   I could easily see my 4-y-o being scared servo-less by this. Yikes.

   "I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave…."

   Reply
2. 

   craig1black

   Jan 13, 2009 at 9:07 pm

   Hehe … "When I asked how many ASIMOs there are, they looked a bit nervous and told me that is a strict company secret. Sounds like a clone army in the making. =)" That’s awesome. I guess I always assumed there was only one — but that’s silly.

   Reply
3. 

   Brian Glanz

   Jan 13, 2009 at 9:22 pm

   How many ASIMOs are there? Not nearly enough of them 🙂

   Reply
4. 

   quanza

   Jan 13, 2009 at 11:19 pm

   Steve – are you in Japan atm?

   Reply
5. 

   Doug_Dirac_Delta

   Jan 14, 2009 at 2:20 am

   @craig1black
   "I guess I always assumed there was only one"
   Based on the number of ASIMO faceplant videos on youtube, I hope that’s not the case.

   @Steve
   "Sounds like a clone army in the making."
   Don’t confuse the Republic clones with the Federation battle droids. =)

   Reply
6. 

   kirainet

   Jan 14, 2009 at 4:42 am

   Interesting experiment! I guess children are more sensitive to the Uncanny valley. We can suppose than when Asimo is walking it falls into the valley for a kid, but if only the the upper part is moving is not realistic enough and the kid can recognize as "just it a robot".

   More "uncanny robots" pictures here (sorry, only Spanish).

   Reply
7. 

   Jonathan Ruff

   Jan 14, 2009 at 7:13 am

   I got to see an Asimo walk around on a stage last year in LA. Can’t wait for the next generation.

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8. 

   Vanita

   Jan 14, 2009 at 7:32 pm

   M is very fond of faux-fainting with joy these days.
   I think it has something to do with being 10…
   He took one look at this and hit the deck.
   ‘-}

   Reply
9. 

   Doug_Dirac_Delta

   Jan 14, 2009 at 7:44 pm

   I saw Asimo in an on stage demonstration a couple years ago at Stanford. It was pretty amazing. Since then they’ve upgraded it to be able to jog.

   Reply
10. 

    michaelfidler

    Jan 14, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    Interesting!

    Reply
11. 

    nels1

    Jan 17, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    as for your title, i just watched "War Games’ again recently and relived my childhood geekiness:)

    Reply
12. 

    Doug_Dirac_Delta

    Jan 17, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Except that in War Games the line was, "Shall we play a game?"

    Reply
13. 

    jurvetson

    Jan 18, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    fixed now… =)

    kiranet: uncanny fascination…

    

    Reply
14. 

    sciencechicago

    Jan 22, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    If I were a 4-year old, I think I might be a bit scared too! What an interesting study though. I’m an admin for a group called Science Chicago, and we’d love to have this added to the group! Thanks and hope to hear from you!

    holly

    Reply
15. 

    Doug_Dirac_Delta

    Feb 12, 2009 at 9:08 am

    Recently I’ve been thinking about the uncanny valley with respect to prosthetic limbs.

    There was an article in yesterday’s New York Times about rewiring nerves to control prosthetics. Definitely worth the read.
    
    The article focuses on a woman and her prosthetic arm. Photos show that the hand looks rather life like, but it is bit unnerving when you get to the elbow… a good example of the uncanny valley. Video of the arm in use (sans pseudo skin) is quite impressive, and I actually prefer the look of it without the imitation flesh layer.

    This makes me think that new prosthetics should work from the not-human-like side of the uncanny valley, focusing on style and function rather than realism. Why not have an arm that looks like ASIMO’s or more like this concept:
    

    Then you could expand function beyond what is normally humanly possible. Why not have a wrist that can rotate a full 2pi radians or an elbow that can bend backwards? Imagine how disturbing it would be to see that on a lifelike limb. But if the prosthetic looks nonhuman, then it’s just plain cool. Instead of trying to conceal the replacement limb’s artificiality, it could be celebrated as a unique gadget and a fashion statement.

    

    Reply
16. 

    TEG2

    Feb 13, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    There is an Asimo exhibit at Disnleyland in the Innovations part of Tomorrowland. You get to see him jog, climb stairs and talk to the audience. My kids really enjoyed it.

    gizmodo.com/gadgets/robots/honda-asimo-to-return-to-disne…
    disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2007/09/asimo-robot-now-playin…

    Reply
17. 

    cesarharada.com

    Apr 17, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    Hi, I’m an admin for a group called http://www.flickr.com/groups/1361821@N25/, and we’d love to have this added to the group!

    Reply
18. 

    Doug_Dirac_Delta

    May 19, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    Here’s some impressive progress with artificial limbs:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WJ19Ndz6zo

    Reply