Word: humanoids
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...their report in Nature, Lipson and Pollack admit their "primitive replicating robot" is far from the mythical medieval humanoid, or golem (after whom they've named their project). For one thing, it doesn't actually replicate--it can't make robots that make new robots--nor does it learn from its environment. But, as Rodney Brooks of the M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Lab points out, it's a "long-awaited and necessary step" to creating machines that are truly lifelike...
...time went by, my little seamen died off one by one, Survivor-style, until only one remained. It grew larger, uglier and more humanoid. Its fins got less finny and more leggy, and its pale, puffy face came to resemble Alfred Hitchcock's. Our conversation got more sophisticated too, although the creature didn't get more affectionate. It greeted me with "yeah, hello, whatever." It called me "fuzzy" and "air sucker." It whined when I didn't keep its tank warm enough--acting as fussy as Niles on Frasier...
...Instead, the purpose was to weld a humanoid faceplate onto the gleaming titanium circuitry of Al Gore. Holding the blowtorch was wife Tipper, who not only introduced her husband but narrated and shot many of the still pictures used in the movie. It was a savvy move: Even to someone who grew up listening to her PMRC campaign being reviled by Ice-T and Mojo Nixon, Tipper turns out to be a moralist who's tough to hate, every bit as easygoing and approachable as her husband is stereotypically stiff. ("Al and Tipper: She's human enough for both...
...series (SimWorld, SimAnt, SimTower), The Sims allows me to dictate every aspect of my characters' lives: where they build their house, whom they live with, how nice they are, how often they brush their teeth. I decide when they eat, where they work and whom they love. Like elaborate humanoid Tamagotchis, the Sims' needs (like food, hygiene, comfort and fun) pop up on a little control panel on the bottom of the screen. Ignore the warning signs, and you'd better be prepared for trouble. "They're like human guinea pigs," says Wright. "It makes you realize how much...