Un articol interesant pe sectiunea de stiinta pe BBC. Uite cum in timp ce Romania devine din ce in ce mai mult o tara agricola, alte tari cum ar fi SUA, tarile asiatice, Israelul etc. avanseaza din ce in ce mai mult in domeniile de inalta tehnologie.
Si apropo de "femeia android", se pare ca cercetarile din domeniul asta sunt sustinute de o cerere crescanda pe piata japoneza si chiar cea occidentala pentru "surogate" de femei, mai ales pentru anumite activitati. Se pare ca e urmatorul pas dupa "cybersex", jocuri video erotice si erotic-chat.
"Japanese develop 'female' android
By David Whitehouse
Science editor, BBC News website
Professor Ishiguru ® stresses the importance of appearance
Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devised - a "female" android called Repliee Q1.
She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner.
She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe.
Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University says one day robots could fool us into believing they are human.
Repliee Q1 is not like any robot you will have seen before, at least outside of science-fiction movies.
She is designed to look human and although she can only sit at present, she has 31 actuators in her upper body, powered by a nearby air compressor, programmed to allow her to move like a human.
We have found that people forget she is an android while interacting with her
Prof Hiroshi Ishiguru
"I have developed many robots before," Repliee Q1's designer, Professor Ishiguru, told the BBC News website, "but I soon realised the importance of its appearance. A human-like appearance gives a robot a strong feeling of presence."
Designed to look human
Before Repliee Q1, Professor Ishiguru developed Repliee R1 which had the appearance of a five-year-old Japanese girl.
Its head could move in nine directions and it could gesture with its arm. Four high-sensitivity tactile sensors were placed under the skin of its left arm that made the android react differently to differing pressures.
Scientists think that, one day, robots could fool us into believing they were human
The follow-up has the appearance of a Japanese woman. To program her motion, a computer analysed the motions of a human and used them as a template for the way Repliee Q1 moves.
She can be designed to follow the movement of a human wearing motion sensors or to act independently.
"Repliee Q1 can interact with people. It can respond to people touching it. It's very satisfying, although we obviously have a long way to go yet."
Professor Ishiguru believes that it may prove possible to build an android that could pass for a human, if only for a brief period.
"An android could get away with it for a short time, 5-10 seconds. However, if we carefully select the situation, we could extend that, to perhaps 10 minutes," he said.
"More importantly, we have found that people forget she is an android while interacting with her. Consciously, it is easy to see that she is an android, but unconsciously, we react to the android as if she were a woman." "
Este foarte interesant cum japonezii continua sa ramana pe primul loc in domeniul roboticii, la distanta destul de mare de SUA. SUA se pare ca pierde teren si in domeniul biotehnologiilor, mai ales in fata tarilor asiatice, dar si in fata Israelului, datorita unor prevederi legislative mai putin restrictive decat cele americane privind cercetarile in domeniul clonarii terapeutice, utilizarii celulelor stem ( sau celule susa, cum sunt denumite la noi, romanii ), gasirea de noi "droguri" care sa amplifice capacitatile intelectuale etc.
Si in timpul asta Romania involueaza din ce in ce mai mult in domeniul cercetarii, datorita conducerilor geniale din ultimii 15 ani.
Am fost de curand la un congres de stiinta si tehnologie la Praga, e adevarat ca unul micut, sponsorizat de o firma Canadiana, si am ramas surprins de numarul mare de cercetatori din tarile arabe, din Iran, India si chiar Malaezia. Nu mai spun ce numar de lucrari publicate in Occident aveau fiecare si faptul ca majoritatea aveau doctorate luate in Occident, dar revenisera in tara de bastina.
Numai guvernul roman e total dezinteresat de activitatile din domeniul cercetarii.
Pana si bulgarii sunt mult in fata noastra ca nivel de finantare. E mare pacat, mai ales ca avem in continuare olimpici de valoare, ceea ce demonstreaza ca potentialul genetic al romanilor nu e epuizat.
,)si ceva schimbari de atitudine in topicurile referitoare la fidelitatea si infidelitatea femeilor ( ceva de genul....care mi-ai luat ma roboata ??? ) 
