Remember when Robots Ruled the World?

Remember back in the eighties when it seemed like everyone was obsessed with robots and having your own personal cybernetic assistant was just around the corner? You can't find any self-respecting survey of eighties pop culture that doesn't mention Johnny 5 from Short Circuit or Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. But in the nineties robots took a back seat to computers and other more "sophisticated" electro-gadgets. When the millennium rolled around, people were too busy plugging into their I-Pods and texting away on their cell phones to remember those corny days of yore spent wondering what it would be like to have a robot to cook and clean (and maybe even do homework) for them.

Leave it to the Japanese to reignite the world's love affair with robots. An enterprising bunch of go getters, having seen the future as it relates to Japans predicted shrinking work force, has created a robot that can cook, clean, and perform "other" assorted tasks around the house! Twendy-One looks a little bit like one of those cute I-pod speaker bots that sits on your desk and dances to the music but it can do so much more. Designed to aid the elderly and disabled with common household tasks, the vaguely anthropomorphic robot is reminiscent of "Rosy" from The Jetsons but without the sassy attitude.

There have been other robots in the past that have claimed to be able to do what Twendy-One can but all have failed partially due to lack of dexterity. Thus it is the dexterous "fingers" and the intuitive and adaptive "touch" sensors that let Twendy-One rise boldly above his predecessors. This "human symbiotic robot" can deftly lift a plastic straw from a table top and inserted it gently into fragile cup being handled by human without crushing the straw, the cup, or the human holding it! It may sound a bit tongue-in-cheek but being able to safely interact with frail or infirm humans is a big step forward as previous versions of robotic "assistants" often could not judge their own strength and rarely had the ability to effectively adapt to changing environmental stimuli.

For more info visit: http://twendyone.com/

Not to be outdone, a Canadian has created the world's first android! Sorry to disappoint you Star Trek TNG fans out there, it's not Doctor Noonien Soong. No, it's the unassuming Le Trung, a native of Vietnam who now lives in Canada by way of Japan. Confused yet? He's a computer expert (aka geek) who originally intended to create something akin to Twendy-One, a robot that could care for the elderly, but his mad skills went to his head and he ended up spending two years and $20,000 in his basement working at his "hobby." The result, Aiko, is a nearly fully functional robotic assistant who helps Trung around the house and with his accounts.

The android is not quite an android but built in sensors allow Aiko to see, hear, feel, and like one. She even accurately responds to situational and physical stimuli such as the arrival of a visitor at the front door, perceived pain, and inappropriate groping (an essential skill for all future fem-bots.) Trung says that though Aiko was designed to perform everyday tasks for those incapable of doing them, such as opening the door, retrieving items from about the house, and reading the morning newspaper to his grandmother, he has plans to program her to perform general household cleaning (especially scrubbing his toilet!) He has even hinted that some of Aiko's future programming may include "intimate" duties (aka in the bedroom kind of stuff.)

Don't really know what to say to that. Form your own opinion at www.projectaiko.com.

And because we've delved so deeply into the creepy side of girl robots, just one more story, I promise. A new exhibit opened recently at the Behind the Shutters art gallery in London. The exhibit, entitled, MuTate London, futures, among other things, two scantily clad animatronic strippers with CCTV cameras for heads. The fem-bots bump and grind to the tunes spat out by their robotic DJ and, to quote one internet blogger, make Britain's "Orwellian future sexy."

For more on the naughty little nymphs, check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7757751.stm.

Granted, all of this technology has yet to be perfected but it warms my heart to see that people haven't given up on the dream of creating ridiculously sophisticated, insanely expensive, and technologically ground-breaking robots just to do their dirty work.

Once again it appears that the robot apocalypse may be at hand but don't worry, I'm sure Will Smith will be around to save us all . . . again.