Loving the Machine The Art and Science of Japanese Robots

by Hornyak, Timothy N.

• ISBN13: 9784770030122
• ISBN10: 4770030126
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-07-28
• Publisher: Kodansha USA

Summary

Japan stands out for its long love affair with robots, a phenomenon that isreating what will likely be the world's first mass robot culture. While USompanies have created robot vacuum cleaners and war machines, Japan hasreated humanoids and pet robots as entertaining friends. While the US makesovies like "Robocop" and "The Terminator", Japan is responsible for theriendly Astroboy, Aimo and Asimo. While the US sponsors robot-on-robotestruction contests, Japan's feature tasks that mimic non-violent humanctivities. Why is this? What can account for Japan's unique relationshipith robots as potential colleagues in life, rather than potentialdversaries? This book attempts to answer this fundamental query by lookingt Japan's historical connections with robots, its present obsessions withumaniods and its leading technologies that are reaching new frontiers.

Author Biography

TIMOTHY N. HORNYAK moved to Japan in 1999 after working as a freelance science and technology journalist in Montreal. He worked at the international desk of Kyodo News in Tokyo, and has written about Japanese culture, technology and history for Scientific American, the Far Eastern Economic Review and other publications.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Say Hello to the Future	7	(6)
Clockwork Teatime	13	(16)
The Buddha Robot	29	(12)
100,000 Horsepower Dreams	41	(16)
Seven-Story Samurai	57	(16)
Of Walkers and Workers	73	(12)
Humanoids at Home	85	(16)
Anthropomorphic Ambassadors	101	(16)
Man vs. Manmade	117	(16)
Android Dawn	133	(16)
Afterword: Loving the Machine	149	(9)
Selected Sources and Online Resources	158	(1)
Acknowledgments	159	(1)
Photo Credits	160