Ready to have your brain blasted to bits? U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi is a “virtual assistant” that is actually a green-clad humanoid robot. Users look at her using virtual reality goggles and instead of seeing a mildly creepy, ninja-like blog they see an actual face and body. You can reach out, touch the body, and even shake hands with your robotic pal.
Made by a Japanese company called Different Dimension Inc., the robot uses a program called MMDAgent to interact with users. An initial prototype looked like a ‘tween in footie pajamas and a full-face hood. The newest version consists of half of a body and a much smaller profile. The pre-order price will be about $5,000.
Unfortunately the system still requires a VR headset and some solid computing power. However, because the entire package is so compact, you could imagine approaching a little green figure while wearing smaller VR glasses and interacting without much fuss. Interacting with a tiny green figure is obviously quite creepy – especially if passers-by don’t know what’s up – but what did Clarke say about technology and magic?