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Invasion of the robot supermodels
Published 16 March, 2009, 17:06
Japanese engineers have developed a robot meant for catwalks. The somewhat anime-styled fembot was revealed to journalists at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology outside Tokyo.
The big-eyed cybernetic model with a silvery body is 158 centimeters tall, but weights just 43 kilograms including batteries, reports AFP. Her name, however, is far from being easy on the ears: HRP-4C.
“If we had made the robot too similar to a real human, it would have been uncanny,” said one of the inventors, humanoid research leader Shuji Kajita.
The cybernetic fashionista has elaborate facial expressions and boasts 42 motion motors to mimic the movements of flesh-and-blood models. She can be controlled wirelessly via Bluetooth.
Developers say they spent $3 million on HRP-4C and do not plan to sell her at the moment.
Monday’s demonstration was a preview for a fashion show in Tokyo on March 23.
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