Flight into Fantasy
People experience different types of fear.
Some fear visible and touchable things like heat, coldness, sickness, or aging. Others fear invisible things like karma, ghosts, or even the future. But each time there is a fear, human are smart enough to manipulate own mind. Once fear is generated, the excellent brain may get rid of it and this results in an amazing prevention of restless mind.
Look at ‘Noby’, a 9-month old infant robot created by Tokyo University, for instance. It is developed to have infant-like learning process, which is gradual learning over growing period. It learns behaviours and does things as seen in the environment and from human interaction. The infant robot is 71 cm high and weighs 7.9 kg.
Its soft skin is full of 600 touch censors. The robot is flexible and can move like a real baby. Moreover, there are microphones in the ears and cameras in the eyes that allow hearing and vision. This is similar to the research of Osaka University in which a robot that mimics laugh, smile, and even wrinkles on the face from such actions was created. The research team believes that the Geminoid TMF robot can be utilised in daily life, especially in hospitals to provide therapy for mental disorder patients by teasing and laughing with them. The robot will be launched at 10 million yen.
The ‘Noby’ and ‘Geminoid TMF’ robots are not different from Tamagotchi, a once popular digital pet of Japan. All are about technologies that are developed for therapy of lonely mind. It fills the empty hole of the virtual world with ideas and knowledge. In the highly competitive society and pressuring economy, people tend to think less of other people and are more likely to stay alone and feel lonely. So, without friends, you need to create one to fill your heart. Though it is not a living thing, your intellect can make up something similar to render happiness.
So, in the path of fear, the society creates its therapy in different forms. Some may be considered nonsense or having no justification, others may be deemed a kind of imagination fulfillment. And some may become brand-new innovation, depending on the level of creativity.
More…
- • Cover Story…...Flight into Fantasy : Transforming in the Fantasy
- • Joy…Happiness of Imagination Drive
- • New YorkReality TV School
- • Swissness…Quality and Being Uncompromising
- • And…Win Leowarin Think Write Plow Sow
Translated by Thaya Wichayathian
