TSUKUBA, Japan — A new walking, talking robot from Japan has a female face that can smile and is planned to make a debut at a fashion show although it still hasn’t cleared safety standards required to share the catwalk with human models.
Developers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology said their “cybernetic human,” shown Monday, wasn’t ready to help with daily chores or work side by side with people.
For now, the black-haired robot code-named HRP-4C, which is just shy of 5 feet 2 inches and is 95 pounds, will mainly serve to draw and entertain crowds.
Developers said the robot may be used in amusement parks or to perform simulations of human movement, as an exercise instructor, for instance.
HRP-4C will appear in a Tokyo fashion show — without clothes — in a special section just for the robot next week.
The robotic framework for the HRP-4C, without the face and other coverings, will go on sale for about $200,000 each. Its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for it, the scientists said.
The robot has 30 motors in its body that allows it to walk and move its arms as well as eight motors on its face to create expressions such as anger and surprise.
In a demonstration for reporters, the robot waddled out, blinking, a bit like an animation figure come to life, and said, “Hello, everyone,” in a tiny feminine voice while its mouth moved.
The demonstration didn’t all go smoothly. The robot often looked surprised, opening its mouth and eyes in a stunned expression, when the demonstrator asked it to smile or look angry.
Its walk was also not quite ready for the Paris Collection, partly because its knees are permanently bent. It has sensors in its feet but lacks the sensitive balance of a real human.
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