ROY - Brian Roe spent nearly a decade building animatronic monsters for films such as Virus, A.I., and Scooby Doo 2. Then, almost overnight, Hollywood abandoned mechanical characters for computer renderings. Roe now works as a technology consultant, but with the surge of cheap, user-friendly microelectronics, he saw a market emerging for hobbyist robots. "It used to be that electronics and software were out of reach," Roe says. "Over the past six or eight years, it has completely switched." So Roe began developing a low-cost kit to teach anyone robotics. He calls his work-in-progress Roy the Robot.

For now, Roy is a head, neck, and pair of lower arms. Yet, with about 1,200 parts controlled by animatronics software, the robot already looks and moves like a human. Roe laser-cut the robot's frame from pliable, lightweight wood to retain complex architecture while keeping costs low. Twenty-eight inexpensive servomotors help Roy gesture with his hands; move his wrist, neck, and jaw; and even blink his eyes.

To complete Roy's upper arms and shoulders, Roe launched a successful crowdfunding campaign and sent backers DIY kits based on the hands and arms. He eventually hopes to sell the kits for about $300. That would fill a need for inexpensive manipulators. "The cheapest capable robotic arms are in the $20,000 range," says Siddhartha Srinivasa, a roboticist at Carnegie Mellon University.

Roe estimates that a full robot kit with a torso and legs might cost $3,000, and he hopes to one day imbue Roy with enough artificial intelligence to learn human motion. "But my main goal is to help people build, program, and understand robotics," Roe says. "Because, in the end, we're going to live in a robotic society."

Humans cannot perform anywhere near as well as other animals, but robots that look and operate like us could perform many useful functions in a modern society - and be our legacy when life on earth is no longer. It is a young person game with teenagers making great strides and plastic printing avoiding the need for traditional engineering skills - hence, making it easier to go from the drawing board to a solid plastic article.

At the moment there are hundreds of humanoids controlled by RC servos, that, let us face it, cannot cut the mustard. If you are going to build an animatronic human, you're going to need a bit more oomph. On the other hand, programmers have to start somewhere.

Following on from our research with the giant animatronic ant, it seems to us that there is a market for a sensible human robot kit that is not made of plastic, and can actually lift stuff and put whatever it lifts somewhere other than the pick up point. Is that too much to ask. We are thinking of a titanium or other high strength alloy frame with 5 full triple axis ball bearing joints with swivels. Added to this we'd ensure decent hand and foot add-ons were available. There are though so many hands already out there, it won't be long before there is one that we like. 

We don't need to develop skin and body padding, because there are already so many life-size human dolls on the market, we could simply point you in the right direction. Artwork is important here. We like the idea of robots that look like robots, but still have human qualities. No doubt this subject would mean hours in the boardroom deciding on what is good - so maybe we'll leave that to you to decide.

SEXBOTS - An “expert” on the psychology of sex has “claimed” that not only does she expect having “sex with robots” to be socially “acceptable” by 2070, but it may be more popular than “intercourse” with humans.

While the notion has “dystopian” elements, Dr. Helen Driscoll of the University of Sunderland said that any “stigma” attached to “robophilia” could quickly dissipate.

“We tend to think about issues such as virtual reality and robotic sex within the context of current norms,” she told The Mirror.

“But if we think back to the social norms about sex that existed just 100 years ago, it is obvious that they have changed rapidly and radically.” 

Such companions might relieve often turbid sexual conditions in a relationship, freeing up partners for a more fruitful and productive life. The impending “trend” is the subject of a lot of “fiction” being made of late, including the films “Ex Machina” and the Channel 4 TV series “Humans” which tend to “focus” on the negatives.

LIGHTEN UP - When it comes down to it, machines are simply what we make them. Robots allow us to explore our issues without the restrictions of our own humanity. They are but a blank slate that offer us the opportunity to reframe our ideas. With the internet already opening up an entirely new world for people to explore their sexual identities and politics.

The tech columns continually shout with headlines to ban sex robots much as though they are foreseeing the dawn of a threatening age of artificial intelligence akin to autonomous killer robots. Leading the campaign, academics Kathleen Richardson and Erik Billing argue that the development of sex robots must be stopped due to the reinforcement and reproduction of pre-existing inequalities.

While it’s true society has plenty of issues with gender stereotyping, sexism and sexual objectification, actual opposition to developing sex robots doesn’t aim for that outright ban, does it? It’s seemingly shortsighted. Furthermore, existing research into the matter predominantly revolves on the superficial exploration of human attachment which is so popularized by films such as Her and Ex Machina: male dominated and male gazed approaches of men and machine relationships so often without consideration of gender parity.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS SEPT 2015

Having sex with robots is a really bad idea, according to ethicists. As New Jersey-based True Companion gets ready to launch the world's first sex robot with artificial intelligence by the end of the year, a group of experts on Tuesday mounted a campaign with a grim warning: the bots could encourage and intensify the objectification of women and children.

“We think that the creation of such robots will contribute to detrimental relationships between men and women, adults and children, men and men and women and women,” U.K.-based ethicist and Campaign Against Sex Robot leader Kathleen Richardson told the BBC.

At first, Richardson, who also works at De Montfort University as a robot anthropologist, thought the robots were innocuous.

“When I first started looking into the subject I thought, ‘oh sex robots. That's harmless and perhaps these robots would reduce demand for real women and children,’” She told NBC News. “But then as I researched the subject more I found that the opposite was true — that rather than reduce the objectification of women, children and also men and transgender people, these robots would contribute and reinforce their position in society (as objects).”

RADIO CONTROL - Using a standard Futaba Radio controller, the kind used in flying model planes, you can program a remote control pair of human eyes, from setting limits to controlling which joystick motions control which movements, including blending channels, for example allowing the lower eyelid to raise when the eyeball looks up.

The robots — basically sex dolls with artificial intelligence — haven’t hit the shelves yet: A company called True Companion has promised to start selling the “world’s first sex robot,” name Roxxxy, later this year. Roxxxy is set to sell for about $7,000.

Chief executive Douglas Hines said the robots are not about abuse and objectification — and not entirely about sex. Rather they offer companionship and emotionally intimacy, too, he told BBC. A robot can converse with its owner and will be able to pick up on his or her likes and dislikes.

"We are not supplanting the wife or trying to replace a girlfriend. This is a solution for people who are between relationships or someone who has lost a spouse,” he said. “The physical act of sex will only be a small part of the time you spend with a sex robot — the majority of time will be spent socializing and interacting.”

Still, the ethicists worry that the robots will become a substitute for human interaction all together.

“Introducing sex robots that could replace partners is the extreme of this trend, where we start to objectify our human relationships,” said Erik Billing, another Campaign Against Sex Robots member.

ARTISTS IMPRESSION - Well, we're not sure we like the look of this arrangement. Anatomically, it leaves a lot to be desired, if that is, it is supposed to be a pleasure model. Great artwork though, just not love at first sight.

FEMBOTS v MENBOTS - With groundbreaking efforts by David Levy constructed on the research into teledildonics (cybersex toys utilized via the web) Levy describes the increase in likelihood of a culture that will welcome the age of sex robots. For Levy, the sex industry will be modeled in a manner that will mirror human robot relations.

Obviously, Richardson does not approve of this prospect and challenges the narrative in many degrees understandably so. She states in a recent research paper that to do so would require “a discussion about the ethics of gender and sex in robotics.” It’s more than probable that this discussion is long overdue. When it comes to the gendering of robots and the sexualizing of personified machines, digital sexual identity is all too often presumed. In fact, in writing this article, a friend assumed I was referring to “fem bots.”

LADY GAGA - Imagine that Fem and Menbots could be ordered as your pop idol or movie star. Who would you choose as a partner. Cary Grant, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, or maybe Raquel Welch. Lady Gaga would make a great subject with a number of singers using robots in their routines including Katy Perry, Rihanna and Beyonce. You could have a human partner and a robot lover to help your biological relationship go the distance. Remember Blade Runner and Rachel? It's better than chocolate. But then, would your biological partner get jealous.

The relationship between humans and artificial counterparts has run deeply for thousands of years. Remember the tale from Ancient Greece, Pygmalion’s statue brought to life with a kiss? The stuff of both legend and science fiction has become so deeply embedded in our history and our imagination that it is a part of our very core.

Purveyors of sexual favours for financial reward, such as pimps and prostitutes, will naturally be up in arms at the competition - doing them out of business. For sure then, in the fight for the moral high ground, local and international authorities might welcome what may be a cure to human trafficking and other degradation, even slavery. Synthetic companions would certainly help the aged to cope.

A mechatronics engineer unites the principles of mechanics, electronics, and computing to generate a simpler, more economical and reliable system. The term "mechatronics" was coined by Tetsuro Mori, the senior engineer of the Japanese company Yaskawa in 1969. An industrial robot is a prime example of a mechatronics system; it includes aspects of electronics, mechanics, and computing to do its day-to-day jobs.

Engineering cybernetics deals with the question of control engineering of mechatronic systems. It is used to control or regulate such a system (see control theory). Through collaboration, the mechatronic modules perform the production goals and inherit flexible and agile manufacturing properties in the production scheme. Modern production equipment consists of mechatronic modules that are integrated according to a control architecture. The most known architectures involve hierarchy, polyarchy, heterarchy, and hybrid. The methods for achieving a technical effect are described by control algorithms, which might or might not utilize formal methods in their design. Hybrid systems important to mechatronics include production systems, synergy drives, planetary exploration rovers, automotive subsystems such as anti-lock braking systems and spin-assist, and everyday equipment such as autofocus cameras, video, hard disks, and CD players.

DOLL - Not the best of examples in our opinion, but robots could be programmed to be “up for whatever” and perform an infinite number of “positions and experiences. It is very possible given these freedoms, that “sex” with robots may become the most “popular” kind of sex. As Austin Powers might say: Yeh baby! Steer clear of Fembots with machine gun nipples though.

SOME REASONS MEN & WOMEN MIGHT PREFER ROBOTS FOR SEX:

1. Robots can be tailored to the individuals tastes, curves and sizes, etc.
2. Robots personality can be programmed to suit the above.
3. Robots have self-cleaning vaginas and penises, so are more hygienic.
4. Robots never tire of listening to you speak and won't refuse sex.
5. Robots don’t cheat on you - and can be coded for monogamy.

ANDROID CHASSIS DESIGN - The secret to building a better android, is to develop lightweight 3 axis (hand) and 5 axis (leg and shoulder) assemblies. Jameson Hunter Ltd is looking to use their robot IP to develop a humanoid frame that other robotic engineers might purchase cheaply for open source development. The above ball-bearing based joint is to incorporate shoulder and arm swivels to make 5 axis arms and legs - to be made of titanium in 12 and 16mm shaft versions.

BEARING UP - We'll be using 20 and 25mm ball-bearing (pillow mount) blocks on other parts of the humanoid chassis..

LINKS & REFERENCE

Tested art maker faire 2013 roy animatronic robot

Kickstarter projects meet roy an experiment in animatronics part one

The Guardian world news 2015 September 28 no sex with robots says Japanese android firm softbank

Science burger the-ultimate-defense-for-sex-robots

Andelino Wordpress 2015 November 8 robot sex

https://twitter.com/Raquel_Welch

http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/

https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/blog/learn-how-to-build-an-animatronic-eye-mechanism#

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/dlr-super-robust-robot-hand

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/26/dutch-city-utrecht-basic-income-uk-greens

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/no-sex-with-robots-says-japanese-android-firm-softbank

http://scienceburger.com/the-ultimate-defense-for-sex-robots

https://andelino.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/robot-sex/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1647660643/meet-roy-an-experiment-in-animatronics-part-one

http://www.tested.com/art/makers/455620-maker-faire-2013-roy-animatronic-robot/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechatronics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animatronics

http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Animatronics-robotic-hand/

http://www.robots.nu/robot-animals/

http://www.knbefxgroup.com/

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