Robotic Model Can’t Compare To Humans

For the first time ever, a robot walked a fashion runway today in Tokyo. Well it didn’t exactly walk, but sort of wobbled like someone waking from an anesthesia-induced stupor. Although this was a great feat in the robotics industry, don’t expect HRP-4C, the Cybernetic fashion model, to hit another catwalk anytime soon because her signature walk needs a lot of work. I’m not even sure Miss J. can help this one. “Our robot can’t move elegantly like the real models that are here today,” Shuji Kajita, director of humanoid robot engineering at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, the company that developed HRP-4C. “It’ll take another 20 to 30 years of research to make that happen.” Our whole concept of a fashion show will probably change by then, so I think the robot industry will serve humanity better by developing a robot maid or mate. [Reuters]