Odds and endsJapanese department store offers robots that look like their buyers
Acting on the insight that some people can never have enough of themselves, a Japanese department store chain now offers robots that look like their buyers; for $225,000, interested individuals can have a robot designed to look like their identical twin
Oscar Wilde said that “Loving oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.” Beyond a psychological truth, Wilde’s line contains a business insight, and Japanese department store chain operator Sogo & Seibu is ready to act on it: You can soon go to their stores to buy robots who look exactly like you. Right, life-size humanoids.
Serkan Toto writes in Sankei News that the company is not that sure about its idea though, as it plans to offer just two robots for the time being. Sogo & Seibu says they will start accepting orders in all of their department stores in Japan as soon as early next month, but if there are three or more people interested in getting a robotic doppelgänger, buyers will be chosen by lot.
The robots are made of silicone and will be able to move their upper body. In addition, they will be able to “speak” to some extent (with your recorded voice, needless to say).
The robots will go on sale for $225,000 each. They will be manufactured by Kokoro, a company that caused a minor sensation with their realistic Androids that gave directions to visitors during the Aichi Expo in 2005. One of their robots appeared in a Japanese TV commercial last year. The picture above shows one of these “Actroids,” but the final design of the department store robos is unknown at this point. Sogo & Seibu’s PR stunt is part of the highly competitive sales promotion campaigns Japanese stores come up with for the winter holidays.
