Heart Robot

http://www.heartrobot.org.uk/

“We wanted to make a puppet to which people might respond emotionally. We wanted the puppet to seem vulnerable, alien, and cartoony. Something new! Something handmade, not factory-built”

this little British guy comes equipped with breathing simulation circuit and since its a puppet it can be controlled by hand. Its amazing to see how people almost automatically relate emotionally to this little creature. they have several other robots per-se (not only robots)

Probo

http://anty.vub.ac.be/info/Probo/

Probo uses sensors for vision, audio and touch to interact with the children. By means of artificial intelligence, Anty is capable of understanding and expressing emotions.

Personally i hate the way this one looks, but its very usefull as stories its aid with ill children at hospital sprawled all over the web. Its hability to detect emotions and react to them made it a perfect companion for hospital beds.

Needies

http://needies.com/about.html

Needies are interactive plush dolls inspired by codependent, high-maintenance relationships.

I was fascinated when i first learned of needies by Brett Schultz (i think they where his thesis project for ITP)  The coolest feature of a needie is that its emotionally dependant of its owner, (needs hugs) and each of them has a different personallity and reacts differently when you pay more attention to another needie he lives with. Not only they sense when you interact with itself but with its peers !

and they are quite huggable too

Huggable

http://robotic.media.mit.edu/projects/robots/huggable/overview/overview.html

It is designed to function as a team member that is an essential member of a triadic interaction. Therefore, the Huggable™ is not designed to replace any particular person in a social network, but rather to enhance that human social network.

This Super Teddy Bear is probably the most advanced companion/toy robot and seems to be mutually inspiration on the Movie AI.  MIT claims it has three main applications,

• Robotic avatar for remote family members
• Early Education Companion
• Therapeutic  Companion

I

Exponentes: Arq. Agustín Landa V, Arq. Roberto Romero, en sesiones de interlocución entre ambos exponentes. Catedráticos del Taller Cátedra Blanca CEMEX-ITESM, del ITESM Campus Monterrey.

• 5 sesiones del 23 de agosto al 27 de septiembre
• Sábados de 11:00 a 1:00 pm
• Costo: $1,250 pesos

Contenido: México no quedó exento de la influencia del Movimiento Moderno de las primeras décadas del siglo XX, fue incluso una fuerte plataforma para que este movimiento arquitectónico consiguiera sus mejores ejemplos de como un movimiento de carácter internacional se acoplara sincrónicamente a una cultura local, un hecho que en nuestros días se ha perdido por completo. El curso analizará histórica y teóricamente la producción de arquitectura en nuestro país desde 1910 hasta nuestros días. Se revisarán, por medio de casos de estudio, las obras y los proyectos de los principales autores que dieron las bases y aquellos que son protagonistas de la arquitectura mexicana en la actualidad.
.

Beatriz M. Castillo
recepcion@marco.org.mx
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey
www.marco.org.mx
Conmutador: 52 (81) 8262-4500

Image by Carlos Bravo, Arte Terrestre