A small robot named ibotn is described as a toddler-care robot by its creator, Digital intelligent security system provider Taiwan ShouDe International Electronics.
(ibotn toddler-care robot video)
The display screen on the face of ibotn can display information on othe robot's operations and its facial expressions. Equipped with built-in camera for facial recognition, ibotn can accompany a target toddler. Based on input of places dangerous to toddlers such as balconies, bathrooms and kitchens in advance, ibotn can send out warnings via built-in scenario-recognizing ImageNet software, when toddlers approach dangerous places. Through facial recognition, ibotn can send out warnings if strangers approach the toddlers.ibotn
American science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick wrote about robots that cared for and watched children in his 1995 short story Nanny, published in Startling Stories:
(Original nanny robot illustration from Startling Stories)
"Of course, robots are a common sight these days. Certainly more so than a few years ago. You see them everywhere you go, behind counters in stores, driving buses, digging ditches - "
"But Nanny is different," Tom Fields murmured.
"She's - she's not like a machine. She's like a person. A living person. But after all, she's much more complex than any other kind. She has to be. They say she's even more intricate than the kitchen."
(Read more about Philip K DIck's nanny robot)
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