Scan the super-duper QR code with your phone camera or 
Wired calls it, “Beautiful … enlightening … a must-read for bot-obsessed humanoids,” while AP reckons it’s “a fascinating history.” We, on the other hand, thought we’d let Tim Hornyak, author of the glossy ‘bot book, Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots, give us a personal view of his latest publication:
— Why aren’t Japanese terrified of robots? If you’ve ever seen a real robot in the flesh – especially a robot that can move fast, like a welding arm, or a robot mouse finding its way through a maze in seconds – they can be scary. There’s something about robot motion and intelligence that can be disturbing, and begs the question: when will it go after me?
There’s little of this in Japan. I was thinking about it one day while playing with Sony’s robot dog Aibo in a shop in Tokyo. The way Aibo responded to petting or went after its playthings just like a real animal was fascinating.
I was also amazed by how it scooted over to its recharging unit automatically when its juice was running low. Give it a few more years of development and some artificial fur, I thought, and it will be indistinguishable from the real thing.
Though Sony pulled the plug on the Aibo project in 2006, the cyber-pup already had legions of Japanese fans who treated it like a family member, taking Aibo to parties, on vacation, even celebrating its birthday.
There seemed to be a willingness in the culture to embrace non-sentient things as partners and friends – even things that aren’t cute like Aibo. Not too long ago, a letter appeared in Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper in which a mother related how she was about to throw away the family’s old rice cooker, but her 3-year-old son pleaded with her not to.
He said the rice cooker deserved better treatment for its long service, and should be thanked. So they took a family portrait with the rice cooker. When I looked into this while writing my book Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots, I discovered that all kinds of forces are involved in Japan’s passion for robots, everything from Shinto and Buddhism to manga and anime.
It turns out that not only are the Japanese in love with robots, they really need them. The population is aging and shrinking, and robots are expected to start taking up the slack, working in service sectors like security and healthcare. That need is fueling development of the world’s most advanced humanoid robots, led by Honda’s Asimo, and lifelike androids like Kokoro’s Actroid.
Meanwhile, kids throughout the country are buying, building and programming new humanoid robot kits for sports competitions. Where’s all this leading? Robotopia, of course. — Tim Hornyak
Thanks Tim. Naturally, if you’re moved to find out more about Loving the Machine in particular and Japan’s amazing robots in general, get clicky with it and head on over to Amazon for your fix.
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