Year: 2017

By TechableJp – January, 2017

http://techable.jp/archives/52532

遠く離れていても、愛する人といつもに触れ合っていたい。そんな思いを体現するユニークなアプリが開発中だ。

スマホを通して恋人にキスを送ろう！

その名も「キッセンジャー（Kissenger）」。仕組みは至ってシンプルだ。スマホを専用のデバイスに差し込むのみ。一見スマホ立てに見えるこのデバイス、前面にセンサー付きのシリコンパッドが備え付けられている。

このパッドにキスをしたら、アプリを通して相手側のデバイスにその強さや反応など、感触がリアルタイムで伝わるという仕組みだ。スマホでお喋りしながら、まるで相手が間近にいるかのような感覚を味わうことができるという。

プロトタイプはiOSのみで利用可能

シリコンを通してのキスのため、その感触がどれだけリアルかは実際に試してもらうしかないが、シティ大学ロンドン教授Adrian David Cheokをディレクターとする制作チームが、現在開発に取り組んでいる。

今のところまだ試作段階。また、Androidには対応しておらず、iOSのみでの利用となる。埼玉工業大学や大阪大学に在籍する日本人もメンバーとしてチームに名を連ねている。

恋人や家族はもちろんのこと、ファンサービスの一環として、アプリ経由で遠く離れたアイドルとも実際に触れ合うことができる　―そんなことも近い将来実現してしまうのかもしれない。今後の動きに要注目だ！

By JakartaGolobe – January 31,2017

http://jakartaglobe.id/advertorial/to-technology-and-beyond-join-conversation-of-the-worlds-innovators/

The world has witnessed the fourth Industrial Revolution brought by the advancement of digital technology, which impacts all disciplines. Ever since the first Industrial Revolution, technology has always had something up its sleeve. There is always something to talk about, something to figure out, whether it is about new ways to aid everyday lives, ethical dilemmas, or the social and environmental impact of technology usage.

The talks never end, so it is time to join the conversation with the world’s most powerful minds across borders. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s editorial content platform, MIT Review, and trade fair company Koelnmesse bring the fourth edition of EmTech Asia to Singapore, curating more than 40 visionary tech executives, scientists and investors to lead the discussion.

When it comes to innovation, Singapore punches above its weight with its ability to attract the world’s foremost thought leaders in the field. Singapore has hosted many research, innovation and technology events, bringing together industry leaders to discuss globally relevant ideas, help inspire change and promote the exploration of new concepts.

By The Asian Age – December 25, 2016

http://www.asianage.com/life/relationship/251216/humans-marrying-sex-robots-to-be-legal-by-2050-experts.html

Sex robots seem to have captured the imagination of people looking for a better time in bed across the world as celebrity look-alikes of robots may hit the markets and robots with functioning human genitalia and the ability to crack jokes are already making news.

While critics have already warned that robots will take over as partners in bed from human beings in the near future and enthusiasts say that robots may lead to clean prostitution, experts are now predicting that sex with robots will also be legalised in the next three decades.

Although the idea may seem unthinkable, the argument cited is that the concept of homosexual marriage was outrageous around the world 35 years back and now they have been legalised, and even black people weren’t allowed to marry each other in some American states till the 70s.

The expert Adrian Cheok says that though the marriages will be legal in around 2050, people will start living with robots much before that. He added that while many marriages between human beings can be unhappy, marriages with robots will have higher chances of success.

The only challenge according to Cheok is to develop a software that allows robots to understand human conversations and emotions effectively enough to be a good partner.

By Olivia Goldhill – December 24, 2016 -QUARTZ

In the face of AI exerts repeatedly predicting the rise of sex robots, it’s increasingly difficult to insist that such machines strictly belong to a far-off, dystopian future. But some robotics experts predict we’ll soon be doing far more than having sexual intercourse with machines. Instead, we’ll be making love to them—with all the accompanying romantic feelings.

At this week’s “Love and Sex with Robots” conference at Goldsmith University in London, David Levy, author of a book on human-robot love, predicted that human-robot marriages would be legal by 2050. Adrian Cheok, computing professor at City University London and director of the Mixed Reality Lab in Singapore, says the prediction is not so farfetched. With the number of women using a the v tight gel product, it is clear that men are looking to maintain quality of sex even after their partner’s pregnancy and child birth. The demand for sexual satisfaction is also common for both sexes.

“That might seem outrageous because it’s only 35 years away. But 35 years ago people thought homosexual marriage was outrageous,” says Cheok, who also spoke at the conference. “Until the 1970s, some states didn’t allow white and black people to marry each other. Society does progress and change very rapidly.”

And though human-robot marriage might not be legal until 2050, Cheok believes humans will be living with robot partners long before then.

Though Cheok acknowledges that sex robots could fulfill sexist male sexual fantasies, he believes robot-human marriages will have an overwhelmingly positive effect on society. “People assume that everyone can get married, have sex, fall in love. But actually many don’t,” he says. And even those who do might be in search of a different option. “A lot of human marriages are very unhappy,” Cheok says. “Compared to a bad marriage, a robot will be better than a human.”

Though various sex robots are on the market, there are none that come close to resembling a human sexual partner—and there’s certainly nothing like the type of humanoid robot capable of replicating a loving relationship. However, Cheok believes the greatest technological difficulty in creating love robots is not a mechanical challenge, but a matter of developing the software necessary to build a robot that understands human conversation skillfully enough for the job.

Once that problem has been addressed, Cheok sees no problem with romances between man and machine. “If a robot looks like it loves you, and you feel it loves you, then you’re essentially going to feel like it’s almost human love,” he says. Cheok points out that in Japan and South Korea, there are already cases of humans falling in love with computer characters. Cheok also compares robot love to human emotions for other species, such as pet cats. “We already have very high empathy for non-human creatures. That’s why I think once we have robots that act human, act emotional, or look human, it’s going to be a small jump for us to feel empathy towards robots,” he says.

Others are less convinced. Oliver Bendel, professor at University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland, with a focus on machine ethics, says he does not believe sex or love robots will have moral standing. “Marriage is a form of contract between human beings to regulate mutual rights and obligations including the care and the welfare of children. Perhaps one day robots can have real duties and rights, though I don’t really believe it,” he says. However, he acknowledges that human-robot marriage could become legal by 2050 simply in response to public pressure.

Then again, Bendel says, legislation could move in the other direction: As sex and love robots become more realistic, governments could choose to ban sexual relationships between humans and machines. Either way, though the technology is not ready yet, experts believe it’s best to start figuring out the moral conundrums now, so that we’ll be prepared once romantic sex robots do arrive.