China develops a humanoid robot Jia Jia to herald in a future of cyborg labour

China has developed a humanoid robot Jia Jia and, with this, China is heralding in a future of cyborg labour. The life-like robot “Jia Jia” is able to hold a simple conversation and make specific facial expressions when asked.
It is billed as China’s first human-like robot and was unveiled last year by a team of engineers at the University of Science and Technology of China.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 9 January 2017.

Jia Jia's creator has predicted that within a decade, artificially intelligent robots will begin to carry out a range of menial tasks in Chinese restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals and households. It has flowing black hair and is dressed in a traditional Chinese dress and looks very much real but, it still has to learn a lot - it has its charms but also its limits and simple questions frequently stump her.
The robot is able to answer a query about the day’s weather, hold basic conversations and recognize the gender of her questioners but has to learn a lot. Such robots have a bright future in China. Growing prosperity was causing many young Chinese to stay away from jobs like waitressing. Moreover, an ageing population would require more hands on deck in hospitals and nursing homes — and robots like Jia Jia can be really useful in these activities.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

30th International kite festival in Gujarat, Telangana, Delhi and Karnataka

McDonald's enters The Vatican with an outlet near St. Peter's Square

Steel mugs in lavatories of trains stolen in spite of being chained to the walls


Lord Shiva laments over full Moon and a burnt roti (satire)

Didi’s Rose garden withers in the valley (satire)

Moody in the world of pickpockets and beggars (satire)


Juhi Chawla creates awareness about ill effects of plastic pollution

Nawazuddin Siddiqui on his film 'Haraamkhor' that premiered in the 15th annual New York Indian Film Festival

9th edition of Jaipur International Film Festival will screen 134 films


Car bomb kills at least 43 in the town of Azaz in Syria - most of the dead are civilians

US army veteran shoots dead five persons in Fort Lauderdale airport, Florida

Prison riots in Brazil leave at least 60 dead - some were beheaded

NASA selects Robonaut 2 humanoid robot for duties on board the ISS

#NASA #humanoidrobot, #robonaut #ISS NASA has selected Robonaut 2, a humanoid robot, to work on board ISS alongside astronauts during not just spacewalks but also to attend to other routine duties. NASA has labeled Robonaut 2 (or R2) as the Invention of the Year for 2014.
This has been reported in zeenews.com dated 21 June 2015.

R2 is positioned aboard the International Space Station (ISS), but a whole lot of technologies developed for R2 are being adapted for use on Earth. This is helping to hone its skills and give it the distinction of an outstanding invention.
The first Robonaut was R1 and it had been developed as a ground prototype to explore the potential for a humanoid robot to assist astronauts during spacewalks by preparing worksites as well as making available an extra pair of dexterous hands during maintenance tasks.
Later, R2 was co-developed with General Motors (GM) through a Space Act Agreement and has turned out to be faster as well as more dexterous than the earlier version R1.
The new technologies that have evolved from R2 include a robotic glove, a robotic exoskeleton and telemedicine applications. In fact, the R2 technology has given rise to a total of 39 issued patents, with several more in the pipeline and under review.
(Image curtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -
Airbus to showcase its E-Fan 2.0 silent plane in Paris Air Show

Music is a great healer – listen to classical music and lower your blood pressure

Taxi strike in Kolkata opens the doors for Uber and Ola cabs

Pickles and yoghurt help youngsters to tackle social anxiety


MI5 warns – extremists on the prowl in the streets of Britain

ISIS militants ambush and kill Taliban fighters in Afghanistan

British would-be jihadists are making detour to Syria via Canada to avoid detection


How retired persons keep themselves busy

Learn to embrace the mall culture

Time weighs down heavily on retired men

Japanese humanoid robot ‘Pepper’ has emotions – specially made for dementia patients

#humanoidrobot #PepperRobot #emotionalrobot #dementia With the increase in the life expectancy of people and, consequent increase in the number of aged persons all around us, it is but natural that problems related to those suffering from dementia gradually take center stage.
Japan has, therefore, created a humanoid robot to take care of dementia patients – these robots have that emotional touch and can become invaluable in taking care of such persons. The robots called Pepper can help take care of people with dementia by recognizing their emotions.
One of the robots is at present in the Nishi-Koigakubo Ninjin Home – this is a special elderly nursing home in western Tokyo. The elderly dementia patients can spend time with Pepper.
This humanoid robot with artificial intelligence is being developed by SoftBank Mobile. It claims to be the world's first robot that has been designed to serve people by recognizing their emotions. It is expected that Pepper would take over responsibilities of a conversation partner for those suffering from dementia.
During its visit to the Nishi-Koigakubo Ninjin Home, the robot Pepper played a game and showed off its dancing skills also. There are plans for the robot to provide better support for dementia patients by encouraging the elderly to talk about their memories.
Pepper is set to retail for 198,000 yen on the consumer market in February.