Post by maarts on Dec 19, 2008 7:24:56 GMT -5
For Matt- as an aside:
Ethical dilemma ...Wang Wenrong, a 78-year old man, works on a home-made robot at his house in Jinan, in China's Shandong province.
Chinese inventor plans Hillary fembot
December 19, 2008 - 12:15PM
A septuagenarian Chinese man says he is planning to build a robot modelled on Barack Obama's nominated Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
Wang Wenrong, 78, spoke of his plans after unveiling his first two home-made robots in his home town of Jinan in the eastern province of Shandong.
Wang told local media that he spent 4000 RMB ($A856) building two "beauty robots" - which can "bow, weave, speak and sing" - each 1.8 metres tall and weighing 50kg.
Wang's rustic robots are a far cry from the like of Aiko, a humanoid robot unveiled by it Canadian inventor earlier this month.
Trung Le's, anatomically correct 1.5m tall, 27kg fembot comes with "wispy auburn hair and peaches and cream complexion", according to The Canadian Press.
Le's $A30,391 android can greet, shake hands, read out loud, perform mathematical calculations and gives the weather forecast.
News of Wang's inventions come after widespread coverage of the exploits of a Chinese farmer Wu Yulu who built an "army" of home-made robots.
Wu, who lives in a village on the outskirts of Beijing, is reported to have built 26 robots over the past 30 years.
The 46-year-old repairman builds robots of his own designs, using nothing but scrap. He spends more than two-thirds of hismodest monthly salary on his hobby.
Wu's creations can scale walls, serve drinks, light cigarettes, play musical instruments and write calligraphy!
China is a late starter in the robot stakes. Japan still leads the world in robot deployment, according to IEEE Spectrum, the flagship publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
With 295 robots for every 10,000 workers, Japan ranks first in the world, with a robot density nearly double that of most of the other countries on the list.
Ethical dilemma ...Wang Wenrong, a 78-year old man, works on a home-made robot at his house in Jinan, in China's Shandong province.
Chinese inventor plans Hillary fembot
December 19, 2008 - 12:15PM
A septuagenarian Chinese man says he is planning to build a robot modelled on Barack Obama's nominated Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
Wang Wenrong, 78, spoke of his plans after unveiling his first two home-made robots in his home town of Jinan in the eastern province of Shandong.
Wang told local media that he spent 4000 RMB ($A856) building two "beauty robots" - which can "bow, weave, speak and sing" - each 1.8 metres tall and weighing 50kg.
Wang's rustic robots are a far cry from the like of Aiko, a humanoid robot unveiled by it Canadian inventor earlier this month.
Trung Le's, anatomically correct 1.5m tall, 27kg fembot comes with "wispy auburn hair and peaches and cream complexion", according to The Canadian Press.
Le's $A30,391 android can greet, shake hands, read out loud, perform mathematical calculations and gives the weather forecast.
News of Wang's inventions come after widespread coverage of the exploits of a Chinese farmer Wu Yulu who built an "army" of home-made robots.
Wu, who lives in a village on the outskirts of Beijing, is reported to have built 26 robots over the past 30 years.
The 46-year-old repairman builds robots of his own designs, using nothing but scrap. He spends more than two-thirds of hismodest monthly salary on his hobby.
Wu's creations can scale walls, serve drinks, light cigarettes, play musical instruments and write calligraphy!
China is a late starter in the robot stakes. Japan still leads the world in robot deployment, according to IEEE Spectrum, the flagship publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
With 295 robots for every 10,000 workers, Japan ranks first in the world, with a robot density nearly double that of most of the other countries on the list.
