A few days back, we were talking about Swami, the $75,000 fortune telling robot and now, we have the $70,000 WAO-1 Face Massaging Robot. It has been basically designed for commercial usage in medical field. The researchers at Tokyo’s Waseda University hope the device will soon be deployed at hospitals and spas across Japan to give therapeutic facial massages. The WAO-1 robot (or the Waseda Asahi Oral Rehabilitation Robot 1) has a pair of 20-inch arms fitted with ceramic spheres that move over the skin like a massage roller. The arms’ movement is controlled by a complex set of algorithms made to emulate massages, while six sensors at the base of the arms measure and adjust the pressure. I have no idea whether they will be offering the face massaging robot for personal use at home. But, one thing is for sure that we are hastily heading into a futuristic era where robots will be commonly seen helping around the house, performing all the chores just like humans.
Via Gizmowatch / ComnetSlash
Instablogs Network 2005. All rights reserved.