Any Synthetiks-related news, Davecat? (Nov 2007)
typed for your pleasure on 20 November 2007, at 2.49 amSdtrk: ‘Jeane’ by the Smiths
Under normal circumstances, when I hear the word ‘children’, I automatically think ‘leash laws’, but this article on the Telegraph’s website reminds me that children really are the future.
Great, now I’ve got that goddamned Whitney Houston song running through my head.
Children treat nursery robot as a human
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor | Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 06/11/2007Child-like robots are being developed for nursery schools after researchers found that toddlers are able to regard their artificial friends as human.
The key step for robots to help teachers is for the automatons to be accepted by toddlers as social peers who are worth paying attention to – and bonding with – a hurdle that is crossed today in a study published by a team from the University of California, San Diego, UCSD.
Robots are capable of impressive mechanical feats, but the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences now shows that researchers are close to solving more difficult challenge: being accepted as being a peer, at least by the smaller members of our species.
The problem is that most robots do not hold a toddler’s attention. The most successful so far have been storytellers, but even these can only hold interest for approximately 10 hours.
Now Dr Fumihide Tanaka of UCSD and colleagues has done much better by introducing a prototype “social robot” into a classroom of toddlers for five months.
A human controller sent very occasional instructions for the robot to turn its head or perform an action like giggling or dancing. The robot was programmed to lie down when its batteries were running out. Often children would put a blanket on him, saying “night-night”. Early in the study, some children even cried when he keeled over.
The researchers videotaped the sessions and scored the quality of the interactions, noting that the children’s social contact with the robot increased over time.
The children lost interest when the robot was reprogrammed to dance randomly, but the robot again became popular after resuming its original operating mode. “By the last sessions, five months later, they treated the robot as a peer rather than as a toy,” the team reports.
the rest of the article is here
This is an incredibly important aspect to upcoming Synthetik/Organik interaction, as if a child grows up alongside robots, they won’t develop a needless fear of or prejudice against robots. Obviously, there more than enough blinkered adults out there now who’ve watched the ‘Terminator’ movies and took them as fact, but kids don’t have that ridiculous conditioning. It’s my hope that successive generations of Organiks can see Synthetiks as their equals, but it’s obviously best to start raising children with that sort of open-mindedness as soon as possible. It’s like any prejudice against any race, colour, creed, etc, really — stamp it out early, and your children develop into better human beings. Kudos, UCSD researchers!
On the passive Synthetik (we just call ’em Dolls) front, 4woods does good again, with the release of the 小悪魔 (‘Little Devil’) version of their somewhat-dour-yet-cute Neu lass, only available for viewing on the Japanese side of the site. A saucy minx!
Give her a black pair of PVC bat wings, and she’s a RYU’S FORM SITE character
Now all she is, really, is a tattooed version of their Neu Doll, with a darker paint scheme and a brown wig. Does she genuinely count as a new Doll? Err… maybe? She’s a rarer version of a (semi-)rare Doll, rather like when DeLorean made the limited edition gold version of their fantastic automobile.
I have to say that I prefer the Little Devil Neu over the bog-standard version, but I would say that. But how long will those tattoos last, is my question? Get your photos in as soon as you can before they rub off!
Not to be outdone, Orient industry have released yet another variation of their popular CandyGirl Jewel line, called CandyGirl Jewel Diva. Much like their CandyGirl Jewel Rosa series, these gorgeous lasses get my Seal of Approval.
If I were her, I’d be staring at my foot, too
At about 5’3″ (taller than the Missus?), just shy of 75 lbs (34 kgs) and with the measurements 34 / 26 / 38, they’re fantastic enough, but the distinction that really sets them apart from all seventy-two of the other types of CandyGirl are their more realistically-sculpted faces. In fact, the Mao-type (pictured above) kinda resembles 4woods’ Mitsumi. Not that I’m complaining. Sexy? Yes!
And finally, performance artist and iDollator Amber Hawk Swanson has slapped together a fine site of her own that details her various projects and appearances, and features a passel of photos and video of her with her Doll twin/bride. Go check it out!
‘Shouting to hear the echoes’. We’ve seen the future, and it’s silicone-based
Technorati tags: robots, Androids, Gynoids, 4woods, Orient industry, iDollators, RealDolls, Amber Hawk Swanson
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November 21st, 2007 at 6.08 pm
AWH! don’t you just love kids?
November 21st, 2007 at 6.11 pm
EH? what happened to the other half? Lets try again “AWH! don’t you just love kids!
November 21st, 2007 at 6.13 pm
Every time i put in the
November 22nd, 2007 at 2.07 am
What’d you break, missy??
And I love kids! As long as they’re either slow-roasted, or fried in tempura batter.
What??
November 22nd, 2007 at 4.18 pm
OH, god i broke shouting etc etc! Hyde x
November 22nd, 2007 at 4.42 pm
YOU BREAK IT, YOU BOUGHT IT
November 24th, 2007 at 4.23 pm
EH… i’m sorry, i don’t speak english….. Hyde x
December 1st, 2007 at 10.52 am
Hello, first time to post. Can I ask if you know the biggest forum that I can find the people who actually bought love dolls? except for Dollforum.com. I already use it but want to find the other site to get more reviews and info. Doesn’t have to be about doll only, but also about adult toys and stuff.
December 8th, 2007 at 8.26 pm
I once read a remark William Burroughs once made about being a heroin addict, he said that whilst using heroin he did little more than “stare at my foot for 7 years”.
December 9th, 2007 at 3.25 pm
Duyee –
Welcome
to the jungle! Apart from TDF, I can only think of one other online Doll forum; the Dollgarden, which is invitation-only. A quick romp through the search engine of your choice should set you right for a URL — as I’m sure you’ll understand, there’s a degree of secrecy that has to be maintained, such as it is, with this sort of thing…To be honest, I don’t know of any that really cover sex toys, as, well, I’ve just never looked into that…
dom –
That’s our Uncle Bill! *cue canned laughter*
Well, she has a cute foot, is all. I have an eye for these things. You don’t have to be a smack addict to appreciate that — but I bet it helps! *cue canned laughter*