Entertainment robot: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Robot designed to entertain}}

'''An entertainment robot''' is, as the name indicates, a robot that is not made for utilitarian use, as in production or domestic services, but for the sole subjective pleasure -an emotion, something machines, even the 'smartest' computers, are not capable to have- of the human it serves, usually the owner or his housemates, guests or clients.

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{{More footnotes|date=April 2018}}

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[[File:Sony Qrio Robot.jpg|thumb|The Sony [[Qrio]] robot from 2003, marketed under the slogan "Makes life fun, makes you happy!"]]

An '''An entertainment robot''' is, as the name indicates, a robot that is not made for utilitarian use, as in production or domestic services, but for the sole subjective pleasure -an emotion, something machines, even the 'smartest' computers, are not capable to have- of the human. itIt serves, usually the owner or his housemates, guests, or clients. Robotic technologies are applied in many areas of culture and entertainment.

Expensive robotics are applied to the creation of narrative environments in commercial venues where [[servo motors]], [[pneumatics]], and [[hydraulic]] actuators are used to create movement with often preprogrammed responsive behaviors such as in Disneyland's haunted house ride.

Entertainment robots can also be seen in the context of media arts where artists have been employing advanced technologies to create environments and artistic expression also utilizing actuators and sensors to allow their robots to react and change about viewers.

==Toy robot==

{{Category see also|Toy robots}}

Robots can be used as mechanical toys which perform various tasks and tricks on command.

Relatively cheap, mass-produced entertainment robots are used as mechanical, sometimes interactive, toys that perform various tasks and tricks on command. The first commercial hit was modeled on the canine.

The first commercial hit was, not surprisingly, modelled on the most popular pet: the canine

===RobotRobotic dog===

{{further|List of robotic dogs}}

[[File:AIBO ERS-111 - July 2010.jpg|thumb|An AIBO ERS-111, from 2010]]

Robot dogs as a fad have been produced with relatively little variation. These are some commercial models:

* ''[[Tekno the Robotic Puppy|Teksta'']], a toy robot dog popular in the 1990s which was intended to be able to perform card tricks and respond to commands.

* [[Aibo]] (robot dog manufactured by [[Sony]])

* ''[[Poo-chi''Chi]]

* ''[[I-Cybie]]''

* ''[[iDog]]'' ([[Sega]]'s equivalentrobot ofiPod themusic Aibospeaker)

* Gupi, a robotic [[guinea pig]]

* [[Space Dog]], the remote control dog<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://blog.retroplanet.com/the-history-of-toy-robots/|title=The History of Toy Robots|date=2009-07-15|work=Retro Planet|access-date=2018-04-21|archive-date=2014-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911082947/http://blog.retroplanet.com/the-history-of-toy-robots/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Robot dogs also appear fairly frequently in fiction compared to other forms of personal entertainment robots.

* ''[[K-9K9 (Doctor Who)|K-9]]'', [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor]]'s portable computer and robot, from the [[UKUnited Kingdom|British]] [[BBC Television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''.

* ''Preston'' -, Wendolene's robot dog from the [[1995]] animated [[Wallace and Gromit]] film ''[[A Close Shave]]''.

* ''Goddard'', pet of [[Jimmy Neutron]].

===Humanoid entertainment robots===

{{further|Humanoid robot}}

Despite those [[humanoid]] robots for utilitarian uses, some humanoid robots aim at entertainment uses, such as [[Sony]]'s [[QRIO]] and [[Wow Wee]]'s [[RoboSapien]]. They are usually capable of some advanced features like Voice Recognition or Walking.

==Commercial show robots==

For machines for the entertainment industry, cost is not the driving factor in design choices, and so the robots are often at a price point outside of what a private person would choose to pay

Thus expensiveThese robots are made for use as:

*shop-front - created by a manufacturer to show what they are technologically capable of and so promote their other products.

*prop - inanimate performer or even artificial actor in show, TV, and movie production (as the fictitious first toy robots, see above); as technology advances, some advanced robots can, often helped with other special effects, to make them seem what cannot (yet), even be significantly more than a cast extra, such as the Starwars 'droids' R-2 DR2-2D2 and CPC-303PO in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' double trilogy (1977-2005) which have proved rather popular from the start.

*promotions - Used at trade shows where they move about a trade show floor providing tongue-in-cheek interaction with trade show attendees to bring said attendees to a particular company's trade show booth.

*exhibit - Robots such as [[Engineered Arts|Robothespian]] are used at venues such as science museums to explain concepts or just be an interactive exhibit in their own right

== Non-commercial art robots ==

In 1956, [[Nicolas Schöffer]] created ''Cysp 1 (Spatiodynamique Cybernétique)'', a robot and dancer working together to create an abstract sculpture and choreography with [[musique concrète|concrete music]] by [[Pierre Henry]]. These works could react to color, sound, and light.

[[Survival Research Laboratories]], in San Francisco, California, creates large destructive robotic performances to [[roast (comedy)|roast]] contemporary culture and express their distaste for the [[military-industrial complex]].

===Robot dog===

The name ''robot dog'' is an [[oxymoron]] because if a thing is a robot it cannot also be a dog and vice versa. Nevertheless the term is usually used to mean a [[robot]] in the shape of a [[dog]], or one which has other canine characteristics (such as a barking dog burglar alarm activated by disturbance of an [[infra-red]] beam). Robot dogs generated a fad and many were produced with little variation.

[[Emergent Systems]] is creating large-scale interactive art environments where robots can respond to humans and each other as they react and evolve in robotic installations. [[Autopoiesis]] was one such [[artificial life]] work that allowed a series of robots constructed of grapevines to both act as individuals and a group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://accad.osu.edu/~rinaldo/works/autopoiesis/autopoiesis.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628201408/http://accad.osu.edu/~rinaldo/works/autopoiesis/autopoiesis.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2006-06-28|title=Ken Rinaldo; Autopoiesis is a group consciousness of interactive robotic sculptures - robotic art|date=2006-06-28|access-date=2018-04-21}}</ref> Augmented Fish Reality allowed [[Siamese fighting fish]] to control their robots to meet across the gap of their glass fish bowls.

Even before robots were produced as toys, the concept was known in fiction:

* ''[[K-9 (Doctor Who)|K-9]]'' [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor]]'s portable computer and robot, from the [[UK|British]] [[BBC Television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''.

* ''Preston'' - Wendolene's robot dog from the [[1995]] animated [[Wallace and Gromit]] film ''[[A Close Shave]]''.

* ''Goddard'' pet of [[Jimmy Neutron]].

[[Intel Museum]] hosts the A.I.-driven interactive robot, ARTI, which is short for "artificial intelligence". This robot is considered to be a work of fine art and is capable of [[face recognition|recognizing faces]], understands speech, and even teaches the museum guests about the history of the museum and its founders, Robert Noyes and [[Gordon Moore]]. ARTI's face is made out of an inanimate silicon wafer.

These are some commercialized models:

* ''Teksta'' a toy robot dog popular in the 1990s which was intended to be able to perform card tricks and respond to commands.

* ''[[Aibo]]'' (The [[Sony]] robot dog)

* ''Poo-chi''

* ''Bow-wow''

* ''[[I-Cybie]]''

* ''[[iDog]]'' ([[Sega]]'s equivalent of the Aibo)

===SubstituteSee pets=also==

*[[Digital pet]]

While primitive robot toy models only execute standardized pre-programmed routines, sometimes little more than a wind-up toy could do, advancing technology allows for interaction with the user and/or other environmental stimuli (e.g. sensor-detected obstacles), thus somewhat resembling a live playmate, but which has no feelings and will thus always remain inferior to a pet, while more convenient as it may be (ab)used with impunity and has low maintenance.

*[[Domestic robot]]

*[[Humanoid robot]]

Nevertheless in the mind of some users the things can hold the loved place of a pet, as demonstrated by the fact that some even sleep with a metallic one instead of a plush cuddly toy.

*[[List of robotic dogs]]

==References==

In fact manufacturers even found it pays to produce a toy that is essentially designed to be nurtured, rather like an egg in some 'parenting experience simulations', as proven by the success of the Japanese [[Tamagotchi]].

<ref>{{cite news|url=http://stocknewsdesk.com/friend-entertainment-robot-sopo-1217399.html|title=Get a Friend other than just an entertainment Robot: Sopo|date=Sep 30, 2014|publisher=StockNewsDesk|access-date=September 30, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006110442/http://stocknewsdesk.com/friend-entertainment-robot-sopo-1217399.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{reflist}}

==Show robotExternal links ==

As usual in the entertainment industry, capital and creativity are invested to try and top anything the private person can afford. In fact, from their owner's point of view this is a professional use, but the product is designed with as end use in mind its appreciation by the public.

* [http://www.kenrinaldo.com/ Ken Rinaldo website]

Thus expensive robots are made for use as:

* [https://www.petoi.com/blogs/blog/tech-gift-for-teens Tech Gift for Teens – Petoi Blog]

*marketing tool - logically showed off by the manufacturers, to promote their products and technology, occasionally used in other promotional productions

*prop - inanimate performer or even artificial actor in show, TV and movie production (as the fictitious first toy robots, see above); as technology advances, some advanced robots can, often helped with other special effects, to make them seem what cannot (yet), even be significantly more than a cast extra, such as the Starwars 'droids' R-2 D-2 and CP-30 in the [[Star Wars]] double trilogy (1977-2005) which have proved rather popular from the start.

{{Robotic dogs}}

{{Robotics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Entertainment Robot}}

[[Category:Robotics|*Robot]]

[[Category:RobotsEntertainment robots|*Robot ]]

[[Category:Robotics|*RobotDance animation]]

[[Category:Entertainment robotics| ]]