Definitions:
- android - a robot representing a human being
- senility - being mentally or physically weak due to old age
- In Tsukuba, Japanese researchers have developed an android that mimics human expressions and can be used as a friend for the elderly, disabled children, and infants. A research group at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba City, near Tokyo, showed off the Actroid-F. The robot can bow and tilt its head. It can additionally blink and frown. The facial movements can be controlled from personal computers. Eventually, it will be a talking partner for the elderly to help prevent senility. The robot is half the weight of past models and batteries can be charged at home.
- I think this will be a great help to people. Especially for all those parents who have to stay home and support the child or adult in need, will have it easier. They can go back to work and earn more money. Plus it has realistic features, making younger children feel safer and more comfortable with the home environment. I chose this article because I believe that having a robot to help is great, but having an android that blinks and recreates the physical features of a human is fascinating.
- If we keep on making androids, will we start becoming dependent on technology and robots?
- Even though robots may help us, isn't it possible that they may harm us in the long run? Letting children be raised by robots rather than their own parents, especially when they are younger, may make the children replace the android as the "parental figure".
Resources:
- Information:
- CNN Network. "She's A Robot? Japan's Latest Creation." West Palm Beach News and
Forecast. CNN Network, 2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.
- Images:
- http://www.wpbf.com/image/25388586/detail.html
- http://www.odt.co.nz/files/imagecache/200x200_scaled_cropped/story/2009/03/a_cybernetic_human_hrp_4c_designed_to_look_like_an_5327023114.jpg
Good job, Savi. This is a very interesting article. I find it amazing that we now have robots to help people if they are disabled or too old. It could really help our world if we had these robots to help the people that need them. I agree with your question, in which you state that it could be bad if we become too reliant on technology. I think that this could be avoided by only providing these robots to the people who truly need them. For example, I do not think that a person who is not disabled should get one of these amazing pieces of technology just to help them do work. A person who is fully capable of doing normal things should not get one, but a person who is disabled or who has another problem should for sure be allowed to have one of these.
ReplyDeleteThis article fascinates me because these androids actually appear and act as a human. I agree with you when you say that letting robots raise children can actually make them replace the parental figure. This reminds me of the story that we read last year, "The Veldt," because technology can actually come and harm others if it is not handled with precaution. In the story, the wall had become the children's "parental figure" and taken away the child's affections for their parents. If many families get an android to raise their children, hopefully, they will not end up like the family in "The Veldt." Great job, Savi! =)
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