U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi Virtual Humanoid

Researchers at Yokohama National University have been working on a 'mixed reality avatar' which consists of a human sized robot complete with touch sensitive skin and a large range of motion. The operator wears a head mounted display which places a 3d virtual reality avatar over the robot. The operator can then move at will around the robot and interact with it in a 3d space while holding a conversation and interacting (Shaking hands etc) with it. The researchers want to commercialize the technology so that it may be implemented in arcade games and other applications such as in the home.


Combined with AI advances such as ALICE and Jabberwacky there will be some opportunities to create some convincingly realistic virtual people. For a laugh, try a chatbot at ... http://www.jabberwacky.com/. The responses may surprise you!

Check it out! Creepy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-hg4qCaR74