Posted on 10/11/2009 7:49:56 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
KDDI Pairs a Mobile Phone With a Robot
Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
Oct 11, 2009 10:50 am
As mobile phones add more features and more users connect with social media, the cell phone becomes a more important part of people's lives. Japanese carrier KDDI has developed a robot companion that seeks to bridge the gap between a phone and its user and a prototype was shown at this week's Ceatec expo near Tokyo.
The robot, called Polaris, is spherical and opens up to reveal a cradle on which a cell phone can sit. While in the cradle the phone communicates various data to the robot, which is able to manipulate the information and provide helpful suggestions to its user, the company said.
There were few specifics about how this could be put into practice, but KDDI offered the example of the robot analyzing a user's diet and offering suggestions. Presumably the user would have to enter what they eat each day for this to happen, and there seems no reason why a robot could do this any better than software running on the phone itself, except perhaps that the robot is cuter.
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
stock analyst
Text "Klaatu barada nikto" to it every day... or else.
thanks, bfl
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