p2pnet news view | Cool:- “Aiko is what happens when science meets beauty.”

The words are Le Trung’s.

And so is the beauty.

Quoted by The Telegraph, he’s,”taken out credit ecards and loans, sold his car and spent his life savings on perfecting his ‘fem-bot’,” says the story.

Now he’s, “desperate to find a corporate sponsor to help him complete and perfect Aiko,” it says.

‘She’ was created by Le Trung, a chemist graduate from York University in Toronto.

He designed the software and hardware for the android, whose name is derived from “Ai” love and “ko” child, says the Wikipedia, going on »»»

According to Le, Aiko is Canada’s first android that can mimic pain, and has the ability to learn what pain is and avoid it. Her first public appearance was held at the Toronto International Center Exhibition in 2007 during the Hobby Show. Aiko’s physical body and gear were built in a period of 3 months at a cost of $25,000 in US funds. However, Mr. Le is continually adding new hardware and software to Aiko, thus making the android more human like.

Mr. Le said silicone from a Japanese Doll company was used to construct Aiko’s body, which looks similar to human skin. The android weighs 30 kilograms and has a height of 151 centimeters.

“I have been watching Robot anime, since I was a kid,” says Trung, from Brampton, Ontario, on his Project Aiko site, going on:

“After watching Chobits and DearS, I have made up my mind that I will make a full human android on August 15 ,2007.

“All it takes is inspiration. After many struggles, and exactly 1.5 months later I have finished Aiko version 1.0.

“On November 2, 3, 4 2007, Aiko made her first TV interview from Global news, and her first public apperance at the HobbyShow at Toronto International Center, and Ontario Science Center a week later. Aiko is bilingual, she can speak English and Japanese.”

“It is my dream to have Aiko be as human-like as possible,” says Trung. “I’m not sure if it is possible, but there is no way to find out unless I try.”

Aiko’s future abilities?

He wants her to acquire facial expressions and after that »»»

• Make tea and coffee
  
• Feed me sushi
  
• Make simple breakfast: eggs and bacon
  
• If I lie my head down on Aiko lap, have her clean my ears with a Q-tip.
  
• Massage my shoulders and neck.
  
• Print and write
  
• Clean the windows
  
• Dust the shelves
  
• Clean my toilet. (I hate cleaning the bathroom, might as well have someone else do it for me)

Aiko, featured online by UK tabloids the Daily Mail and Sun, “is both happy and embarrassed by the attention,” says the Toronto Star, which has Le Trung declaring:

“She’s not really my girlfriend. Aiko’s a robot who can do a lot of things, and hopefully more soon.”

“I have friends — I don’t need to create friends.”

The stories, “suggested Trung, who was born in Vietnam and grew up partly in Japan, may have made Aiko because he was too busy to find a real girlfriend,” says the Star, adding:

“Trung, 33, who made his first robot when he was 8, says Aiko is the result of his years of planning, calculations and hard work.”

Stay tuned.

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The Telegraph – nventor creates his perfect woman a robot who can clean and do the accounts, December 10, 2008
Toronto Star – Robot ‘not really’ his girl, man says, December 11, 2008

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 9:38 am and is filed under Cool Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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