Adult Toys - i-Sobot

[kurohinge1]

[SIZE="4"]Japanese toy firms look to adults[/SIZE]

Faced with a declining birth rate and a rapidly aging population, Japan's toy makers have had to learn life's most sobering lesson: everyone must grow up.

. . . "The declining birth rate is a serious problem for us," said Keita Sato, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of toy maker Tomy Co Ltd at an industry forum in Tokyo on Tuesday.

While there were plenty of traditional toys on display at the event, much of the emphasis was on products aimed at older consumers.

Tomy is hoping that gadget-loving young men - known here as "otaku," or "nerds" - will embrace its new robot, the i-SOBOT [pictured above].

Small enough to fit in a lunchbox, the 165-mm tall robot weighs in just 350 grams and is, according to Tomy, the world's smallest two-legged walking robot.

An updated version of the bulky "Omnibot" robots the company sold in the 1980s, the 2007 version can play drums, dance along with music, do press-ups and pick itself up when it falls.

With a price tag of about $US260 here, Tomy is hoping to sell 50,000 i-SOBOTs in Japan and 250,000 more overseas.

DEFINING TOY

The robots are the flagship product among a line of goods the company is marketing toward adults.

"We plan to strengthen our line-up of both basic toys for children and hobby items for adults," said Tomy's Sato.

Others include tiny radio-controlled airplanes that can land in small spaces, and a gadget that uses a laser to project a moving space landscape on a ceiling . . . more

I want these things to start earning their keep and contributing to the household. I don't need more useless stuff that just hangs around the house and looks good - that's my job! I want these little bots to perform. Here's my "wish list", for now:

1. A Roach-Bot for the kitchen that can sit there at night, quiet and unassuming, until a cockroach appears, at which point my bot hunts it down relentlessly (like the Terminator) until it is obliterated by a laser weapon or just pounded with a mallet or something]A Key-Bot that I can unleash to track-down my unsuspecting car keys or remotes, no matter how hard they're trying to hide from me;
2. A Nappy-Bot to take care of those delicate operations that may involve human waste (and I'm not talking about Jack); and
3. A Beer-Bot, that can run and fetch beers from the fridge, while not upsetting the Roach-Bot, and then keep me company on the couch while we laugh at the Key-Bot trying to get the car keys out of the fish tank.

Tomy Co Ltd, I hope you're listening.

[Greji]

1. A Roach-Bot for the kitchen that can sit there at night, quiet and unassuming, until a cockroach appears, at which point my bot hunts it down relentlessly (like the Terminator) until it is obliterated by a laser weapon or just pounded with a mallet or something]A Key-Bot that I can unleash to track-down my unsuspecting car keys or remotes, no matter how hard they're trying to hide from me;
2. A Nappy-Bot to take care of those delicate operations that may involve human waste (and I'm not talking about Jack); and
3. A Beer-Bot, that can run and fetch beers from the fridge, while not upsetting the Roach-Bot, and then keep me company on the couch while we laugh at the Key-Bot trying to get the car keys out of the fish tank.

Ahh, Kuro, you forgot Head-Bot

[kurohinge1]

. . . Here's my "wish list", for now:

4. A Beer-Bot, that can run and fetch beers from the fridge . . .

Tomy Co Ltd, I hope you're listening.

[SIZE="5"]Asahi was![/SIZE]

Beer-bot pours chilled drinks for thirsty humans

Japanese beer maker Asahi [planned in 2006] to give away 5000 personal bartending bots, each of which can store up to six cans of beer in a refrigerated compartment within its belly. At the push of a button the simple robots will open a can and pour the chilled contents into a glass for a thirsty owner.

To win one of the beer-bots, in a promotion for the company's new low malt beer, contestants [had to] collect 36 tokens found on the specially marked beers. But the competition, starting in February [2006], [was] only open to those in Japan . . . more

And here's one on YouTube:

[YT]2tXmGYk_A_c[/YT]

It looks like if you hit the "start" button as you leave for work in the morning, the beer should be poured by about the time you get home at night !

Nevertheless, glad to see they're on the right path to developing a better future for all of us, through robotics.

[Mulboyne]

[floatl][/floatl]AFP: Energy ministers get 'buddy' humanoids
Cabinet ministers from the world's biggest economies who gathered in Japan for grim talks on energy security have one tiny thing to celebrate -- the world's smallest humanoid robot. The Japanese hosts plan to send all 11 ministers special editions of the 16.5-centimetre (half-foot) robot after wowing them with the toy at a dinner Saturday. "With this, you won't forget about me," Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari said to laughter at the dinner, according to an official from the robot's maker Tomy Co. Ltd. who was present. The interest in the "i-Sobot" seemed unabated Sunday, with Canadian Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn (left) stopping by a desk set up by Tomy for the energy talks in the northern Japanese city of Aomori. He picked up the tiny robot and dubbed it, "my new friend." The minister, who has two children, said he himself would play with it "all the time." "With this on my desk... as I solve government problems, I'll use the i-Sobot," he told AFP. Japan will send the robots commemorating the Aomori meeting to ministers attending from the Group of Eight industrial powers plus India, China and South Korea. The technology-loaded robot, whose special edition is black and speaks English, is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's smallest mass-produced humanoid. The i-Sobot is able to make 200 physical movements, including somersaults and other complex acrobatics, speaks 180 words and responds to verbal commands. "We think this represents the unique Japanese culture of cartoons and animated films that consider robots to be a 'buddy,'" Tomy spokeswoman Mei Kudo said. "Rather than being a machine showcasing cool technology, it is a comical character that lies down and scratches its bottom," she said. When Tomy launched the robot, the company said it needed to reach out to adults and lift the barriers between toys and high-tech products. Tomy has shipped 20,000 units in Japan and another 26,000 overseas since its October 2007 launch. It is priced at about 30,000 yen (285 dollars).

[kurohinge1]

. . . Cabinet ministers from the world's biggest economies who gathered in Japan for grim talks on energy security have one tiny thing to celebrate -- the world's smallest humanoid robot.

. . . The interest in the "i-Sobot" seemed unabated Sunday, with Canadian Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn . . . stopping by a desk set up by Tomy for the energy talks in the northern Japanese city of Aomori. He picked up the tiny robot and dubbed it, "my new friend." . . . "With this on my desk... as I solve government problems, I'll use the i-Sobot," he told AFP. Japan will send the robots commemorating the Aomori meeting to ministers attending from the Group of Eight industrial powers plus India, China and South Korea . . .

If only they knew that this little Trojan Horse is also loaded with sensors and surveillance equipment. It will record sensitive information and when its heat and movement sensors detect no human presence, it will even snoop around its environment, transitting it all to the Tomy mainframe computer . . .

[/paranoia]