WizKid Robot Debuts At New York Museum

ScienceDaily is reporting that a new exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York is part computer, part robot, and part child. Part of the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibit "WizKid" is able to focus on human faces and follows your movement allowing you to interact with objects on its display simply by waving your arms. "Wizkid looks like a computer with a neck. But there the similarities with the familiar personal computer end. Wizkid isn't static. The screen on the mobile neck moves about like a head, and it's trained to hone in on human faces. Once it sees you, Wizkid focuses on you and follows your movement. Unlike a computer, which requires you to stop what you're doing and adapt your behavior and social interactions in order to use it, Wizkid blends into human space. There's no mouse and no keyboard. You don't touch anything. There's no language getting in the way. On Wizkid's screen you see yourself surrounded by a "halo" of interactive elements that you can simply select by waving your hands. If you move away or to one side, Wizkid adapts itself to you, not the other way around. If you're with a friend, Wizkid finds and tracks both of you and tries to figure out your relationship, expressing surprise, confusion or enjoyment when it gets your response."

I can see these selling well

[The Ancients]

...in Japan. The country where you can hire 'family' to visit yours.

... uh, not so much

[TheRealMindChild]

Once it sees you, Wizkid focuses on you and follows your movement. Unlike a computer, which requires you to stop what you're doing and adapt your behavior and social interactions in order to use it, Wizkid blends into human space.

So it REALLY is like having a kid

Re:Creepy

[Brian Gordon]

Everyone's thinking it: or Terminator. AI research is very interesting, and simulated neural networks blow me away with their complexity, but just WHY apply it to robots? If you end up creating anything useful, you'll be playing very close to some very deeply-ingrained human fears.. and if you think Slashdot is progressive/liberal enough to be immune from such fears, have you ever struggled against a disconcertingly powerful optical drive servo trying to pull a disk tray open? Yeah. Now you remember. :)

Nontraditional UI

[bkaul]

From an AI research perspective, there are of course some interesting aspects. However, from a perspective of actual utility, I'm skeptical.

When it comes to actually using a computer for office productivity or other "useful" applications, traditional interfaces (keyboard/mouse) are much more efficient and less intrusive. I suppose for home multimedia applications, Microsoft's smart table idea has some merit, but who really wants a computer/robot following them around and pestering them? I don't get the appeal. I don't want my computer to use me or intrude into human interactions as if it were a guest. I want to use it as a tool.