Image & Imagination

Move Over Aibo, Here Comes Asimo

Honda has developed what it has called an advanced humanoid robot, dubbed “Asimo”.

ASIMO stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, and was recently revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show, at the beginning of its European publicity tour.

The robot is considered the most advanced human-like robot to date, in light of its ability to walk and navigate turns and stairs. Honda’s machine uses cutting edge motion technology to give its impressive machine its ‘natural’ movement and life-like functions.

“The mission of Honda is to harness the potential of advanced technology to improve the lives of our customers,” says Mr. Takeo Fukui, Honda President and CEO. The company is now renting out the robot to Japanese corporations and organizations for promotional roles such as meeting and greeting visitors.

“Asimo is a new technology that we have developed independently, and we hope that one day it will play a role in assisting humans in all sorts of ways,” Fukui says.

Laptop Display in 3-D

Electronics manufacturer Sharp has introduced a new laptop that displays 3-dimensional images without requiring any special glasses. The Mebius PC-RD3D, billed by Sharp as the world’s first
3-D laptop, goes on sale Oct 27 in Japan and will be released in the United States later this year.

The new model is primarily designed for people who use three-dimensional software, like archi-tects and game designers, but Sharp is now developing a model suited to the needs of average consumers as well. Since last November, Sharp has been selling NTT DoCoMo mobile phones with
3-D display capability.

The 3-D function is achieved by simultaneously sending slightly different images to the viewers left and right eyes, and bending the images at different angles, Sharp says. The laptop sells for about $3000 (U.S.) and can be switched between standard 2-D and 3-D viewing with the push of
a button.

Camera Phones’ Darker Side

The telephone brought us the crank caller and telemarketers. The Internet brought us spam email and computer virus outbreaks. Doubtful that this writer was the only one concerned when ‘camera phones’ began to take a foothold as the latest technological trend in our mobile phone culture. It seems that bad camera 'phonettiquette' has become a phenomenon the public won’t be able to ignore much longer.

The most egregious examples of this behavior would include clandestine photos of government documents to be sold or used for terrorist or other illegal activities. There are, however, more common violations of law, privacy and civility. Snapping photos of books, magazines or other materials from bookstores instead of purchasing them has become a growing problem. Japan’s magazine publishers association is mailing out 34,000 posters to bookstores asking patrons not to use camera phones to shoot pages from periodicals in lieu of buying them.

Although such photos by themselves do not violate current Japan copyright laws, bookstores say the practice is devastating sales. Makoto Niikura, owner of Yakumodo book store in Tokyo, says, “Times are tough already... and this kind of problem has to come falling from the sky.” He has since put up a sign saying “Magazine lovers watch their manners.”

Similarly, taking photos up the skirts of unsuspecting females or over bathroom stalls has become a widely reported complaint. Among those already apprehended by Japanese police for taking such photos on crowded trains and in stores, one culprit was fined over ¥500,000.

Preventing such violations of good behavior in the face of the growing convenience and efficiency offered by our high-tech devices is a daunting challenge and part of the fundamental paradox of living in a technological society. Nevertheless, those tempted to use their mobiles for nefarious purposes should be cautioned that bad social behavior is still bad social behavior.

Text: H.W.J.