Crowds filter through a darkened corner of Tokyo¡¯s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation on a recent Saturday, seeking to catch a glimpse of what the future may be like.
One of the attractions is a child-like creature that sits perfectly still, and occasionally bursts into speech. This is Kodomoroid, billed as the world¡¯s first news-reading android, which the museum claims has ¡°potential exceeding that of its human equivalent.¡±
Kodomoroid is the brainchild of Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University whose next goal is to make a robot that can formulate its own intentions and desires.
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