More Friendly Robots

My sister, ever alert to the possibility of a robot uprising, forwarded a link to Kokoro Company last night. Kokoro (which means "heart" in Japanese) is a subsidiary of Sanrio, home of supercute icons Hello Kitty, Badtz Maru and Chococat. So it was a bit surprising to see that they're all about the animatronics and robots, including fierce-looking dinosaurs and fiercer-looking giant insects, the latter of which combines two of the three sci-fi menaces I'm always looking out for. (If they were zombie giant robot insects, we'd have a trifecta.)

Most disturbing of all is the Actroid, yet another electronic replacement for authoritative humans. Stepping ever closer toward the uncanny valley, the smartly dressed Actroid mimics all the gestures of a too-nervous Japanese hostess (you can see a video here), with arm movements just unnatural enough to make you backpedal in mild horror.

Actroid can dress up in a number of ways, depending on her role -- including maid, nurse, and bar hostess outfits. My head hurts just thinking of all the fanboys who have been waiting for this day.