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July 21, 2006, 01:33 PM ET
My Professor, the Robot
From time to time, nearly every professor must feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day. But it’s a pretty safe bet that Hiroshi Ishiguro’s time-saving tactics are unique. A professor at Osaka University, in Japan, he appears to be academe’s first roboconferencer.
Mr. Ishiguro is also a senior researcher at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, which is an hour’s drive away from the university. To eliminate his commute, the professor has designed a robot in his own image, reports Wired News. "Geminoid HI-1," as the machine is known, resides on the campus. By donning motion sensors, Mr. Ishiguro can deliver lectures through the robot even when he’s stuck outside of Osaka.
The robot is a spitting image of the professor, and it even has a bit of stage presence: It can accurately mimic Mr. Ishiguro’s posture, lip movements, and vocal tics. —Brock Read
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