The robot Saya works as a receptionist at the Tokyo University of Science in Tokyo.

Human-looking robot smiles in Japan classroom

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GG2141 at 02:32 PM JST - 7th April

The whole robot thing in Japan is a bit odd. I sometimes think that the Govt. has created some sort of secret plan to finance robot manufacturing as the next wave of industrial growth.

We laugh now, but will we still be laughing when Japanese robots rule the world???

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/intheknowarewegivingthe
dennis0bauer at 03:08 PM JST - 7th April

Crush on the teacher will have a whole new meaning, more declining birthrate?
cactusJack at 04:26 PM JST - 7th April

When her software freezes, does her face turn blue? And where is the "re-boot" button located?
dontpanic at 05:03 PM JST - 7th April

"I sometimes think that the Govt. has created some sort of secret plan to finance robot manufacturing as the next wave of industrial growth"

Thats not a secret, its an openly stated government objective and good for them. With the global economy on its knees and low cost economies ready to step in to make everyday products, its value added research like this that will help developed nations maintain a decent standard of living.

I dont see the need for a robot teacher, but there are plenty of mundane, heavy, or dangerous jobs robots can step into. Invest now while the research is still in its infancy.
gogogo at 06:47 PM JST - 7th April

Smile? Looks like it needs to go poop.
oberst at 07:30 PM JST - 7th April

" We laugh now, but will we still be laughing when Japanese robots rule the world??? "

ONLY if the robot industry support robot as sex toy.
likeitis at 07:52 PM JST - 7th April

gogogo: Smile? Looks like it needs to go poop.

An astute observation. Somebody forgot to tell the geeks who made her that the smile is in the eyes, not the mouth. No surprise the socially inept would not realize that.

My bet is the first robots will end up with features the pervs are all looking for

More power to them.
amakuri at 09:22 PM JST - 7th April

She looks like the female teller at my local bank or the woman behind the checkout at the supermarket....hmmm fushigi desu ne!
Freddy5 at 11:25 PM JST - 7th April

Shouldn't the headline read: "Robot-looking human smiles in Japan classroom"?
JOKERXJOKER at 01:51 PM JST - 9th April

why her face looks like the ghost that crawl out the t.v..from that famous horror film..lol i wonder what happen if someone punch her face..bets it will still say thank you.lol. by the way don't called a pre-programmed mannequin a robot. A robot is a machine that have A.I, and capable of analyzing, interpreting and give timely solutions to problems and actions based on changes on environments, interactions and timing variables. for more info pls search on advance A.I Tech improvements and applications. Asimo is not a robot also, its only piece of remote control junk that got hype from intense marketing.Just give Asimo a kick on the back during its duhhh..walking demo and u know what i meant.. i'm a researcher of advance A.I tech..walking and running in 2 feet is such a no go and inefficient...just a leak :we develop real robots that levitate/fly and capable of recharge itself only using sun light give it a jumble up rubic cube, it can solve for u less than 10 minutes (we still upgrading that)..wait for the news..the new dawn is coming...hahahaha
JOKERXJOKER at 01:52 PM JST - 9th April

..by the way the robots that we create ..doesn't a bit look like human ..its..err..just look like robots.
oberst at 10:19 PM JST - 10th April

That expression................ looks like she is constipated !!
oberst at 10:20 PM JST - 10th April

where is the "re-boot" button located? .................................................

rumor has it she has two re-boot buttons
UnagiDon at 10:43 PM JST - 10th April

"looks like a porn star burn victim..."
rogerbentham at 03:30 PM JST - 13th April

this is scary. japan has a population problem, and this is the solution, robots. probably could rip a kid's right out of it's socket if he didn't behave.