Spike and Boo are not at all sure what to think of the human susceptibility to kitty cuteness. Are cats not graceful, elegant, sophisticated, dangerous, intelligent, independent, and superior?
So what's with all this sweet, harmless, roundness? I mean, Hello Kitty? What resemblence does this have to an actual cat? This via Boing Boing:
Taiwanese airline EVA has repainted one of its jets with giant Hello Kittys. According to Popgadget, "the plane's interior features Hello Kitty-related items as well, ranging from boarding passes, baggage tags, dining utensils, and lavatory papers to flight attendant uniforms." Link
I mean, any actual cat would be offended. Then there are the robots, none of which have fur, mind you -- nor claws.
First we have, via Popgadget: A new 75-centimeter-tall robot is now greeting visitors of the Manekineko Museum
of Art that collects and displays beckoning cat dolls from across
Japan. Equipped with a sensor, it beckons with the left arm when people
or cars pass before it.
Then, as seen on TV!, from Philips Research we have a serious cat robot -- iCat:
Progress in various technologies - hardware, software and artificial intelligence - brings the vision of personal robotics closer. While much work is done on the technology many open questions needs to be answered about the social impact of having a personal robot in a domestic environment. Philips Research is investigating technical and social aspects of user-interface robots in an 'Ambient Intelligence' environment, in which technology is seamlessly integrated in your life.
I'm not really sure that I want iCat seamlessly integrated into my life, but in case you do, here are a couple of videos the company offers to get a better idea of how it works: + Katy as game buddy & + Comparison between two characters.
Speaking of games, Boing Boing awhile back did a post on "a game for granny":
He introduced the design of his new controller specifically tailored for the Granny, and a picture of a cat appeared on the screen to great amusement. He explained, "the shape of the cat and the heat waves that it gives out really gets the old ladies going as they get quite cold. They like the cat shape. The cat is designed to be rested on the old ladies knees." The cat controller was met with rapture from the audience . . . Link
Well, I may be an old cat lady, cold knees and all, but I am not going to go out and purchase this Hello Kitty robot, which:
. . . is unfortunately unable to walk, but is expected to make up for this with its supposed ‘communication’ abilities. With an impressive stock of 20,000 memorized conversation patterns to choose from, you can expect the robotic cat to blurt out random words and phrases at the most inappropriate times imaginable. And to aid this communication ability further, the device is able to gesture by moving its head and arms.
Instead, I am going to visit some of my favorite critter places:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Have a nice November weekend!
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I saw a darling Hello Kitty scarf with mittens at this cool Asian market here in Seattle. I like Hello Kitty!
Posted by: michelle | 19 November 2005 at 12:24 PM