|
|
Open the Refrigerator Door, Hal
Japan's obsession with robotics really seems to be paying off now, as this New Scientist article demonstrates:
A ROBOT suit has been developed that could help older people or those with disabilities to walk or lift heavy objects.Dubbed HAL, or hybrid assistive limb, the latest versions of the suit will be unveiled this June at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, which opened last month. A commercial product is slated for release by the end of the year.
Will robotics be "the next Internet?" If so, I think it'll be the first time in modern history an entire field of research, engineering, and production was brought to term with a non-western country in the lead. And good for them too!
Bionic grammas... whodathunkit?
Via Site-Essential.
By the Goddess, NO!. We do not need these tai chi-practicing old folks in mecha suits. They already hate everyone under 65. And then you give them mechanized strength? All they'll do is try to bring the whup-ass back - the same stuff they used back in WWII, Korea and the like. And do we really need that? Some pissed off grandparent going all Iwo Jima on your ass because you wear your hair long or have a nose ring?
I think not.
Posted by: ronaprhys on April 14, 2005 04:56 PM