Phase 1.0: Infiltrate.the/Organics

Robot Uprising at Osaka University

from Sploid

The Machines have finally launched their long-feared insurrection, infiltrating the faculty of one of Japan's leading university.

When students arrive at Hiroshi Ishiguro's class at Osaka University, they are completely unaware of the nefarious force in their midst. There Ishiguro sits blinking, jiggling his foot, his shoulders rising and falling with is breath. Any suspicions they might have about the strange hue of his complexion are dispelled when he opens his mouth and starts talking.

"Everyone, thank you so much for coming today."

Ishiguro is a senior researcher at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories outside Kyoto. Weary of the hour's drive to his teaching job, Ishiguro built Geminoid HI-1 so he could "robot in" to class.

"The idea is tele-interaction," says Ishiguro, head of the university's Intelligent Robotics Laboratory. "If I access the android through the internet, I do not need to go to ATR anymore."

Geminoid HI-1 is an exact replica in almost every way. He was built from casts made of Ishiguro's body and speaks in his voice. The andriod's lips move in sync with motion detectors the roboticist wears on his own lips. The silicon-and-steel Ishiguro's movements are driven by pressurized air and small actuators.

"If I could have one at the university, and one at ATR, I would just do all my work from a hot-springs resort," the mad scientist laughs.

And that's exactly what the Machines are hoping for.