小时候看《机器猫》，你是否也想拥有一个无所不能的机器人朋友？虽然这个愿望到现在还不能实现，但随着现代科技的发展，机器人技术已广泛应用于人类社会生活的各个领域。它们外形可爱、善解人意，对工作从不挑肥拣瘦、勤劳能干、任劳任怨……说到这里，你是否也染上了“机器人情结”？ Follow You Robots may not invade anytime soon, but there's no denying that they're getting smarter. The ball-shaped ApriAlpha uses advanced voice-recognition technology to distinguish between voices coming from different locations. When ApriAlpha hears a voice, it fixes its digital-camera eye on the person speaking. The taller ApriAlpha can identify a person in a crowd by the color of his clothes and shape of his body, and then follow its target. It even bleeps when it loses track of its subject.
Cool Cat The notion of robot as home companion is nothing new, but iCat adds something: an expressive face. Tell her to go away, and iCat will look sad. Praise her, and she will smile. Internal microphones can be used to record sounds and help with speech recognition, and 13 electric motors move her eyes, eyebrows, eyelids, mouth and head to produce the appropriate emotional response. iCat can also connect to the net and show online informtion on your TV or read it aloud.
Turtle Race It's small, it's cute and it walks across your desk, tail wriggling. To program Walkie Bits, simply knock its shell with your finger. It can remember and mimic up to 15 different rhythmic patterns. In song mode, it bleep-bleeps Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony. But the most fun you can have with these tiny turtle robots is to race them against each other. In basic walk mode, the Walkie Bits' pace is unpredictable, so you never know which one will win. Three can fit in the palm of your hand.
My Family Member: Nuvo Tired of coming to an empty home each night? Try Nuvo. This 15-inch, two-legged robot can dance, talk, play music, tell time and even shake your hand. It can respond to 40 simple commands (like “Nuvo, let's go out and take a walk”) in a Japanese-accented female voice and take pictures with the Cyclops lens mounted on its head. Nuvo can perform tricks like headstands, as well as roaming freely around the house. Nuvo will even take photos and transport them to your cell phone.
Shall We Dance With a face modeled on Marilyn Monroe's and a long, flowing skirt to hide its three wheels, the 5-feet 5-inch Partner Ballroom Dance Robot can dance the waltz very well. Available in pink or blue, it has upper-body sensors that allow it to “predict” its partner's next steps. Dancing is just one application. “By interpreting users' movements to estimate what they want, care robots will be able to provide better service for the elderly or handicapped,” says one of the creators.
