[ExI] stealth singularity

[Stuart LaForge]

Quoting Spike:

>   ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "spike at rainier66.com"  
> <spike at rainier66.com>To: 'ExI chat list'  
> <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>Cc: "spike at rainier66.com"  
> <spike at rainier66.com>Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2019, 12:23:46 PM  
> PDTSubject: Re: [ExI] stealth singularity
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On  
> Behalf Of Stuart LaForge
> Subject: Re: [ExI] stealth singularity
>
>
> Quoting Spike:
>
>> If we go with the notion of a wheelchair manikin for the elderly AD
>> patients, many of them are sight impaired.  This means we don't need
>> to be very sophisticated  with the facial-expression actuators at all. 
>> We need a two-axis to bend and rotate the neck, a jaw actuator, an
>> eyebrow actuator and not a heck of a lot more.  From the neck down it
>> is easy (assuming it doesn't have THAT capability.)
>
> There are two alternate ways to go with this. If you are going to  
> try to mimic a human being, it should be as realistic as possible.  
> If you simply want a robot companion, it could be a walking talking  
> teddy bear or other obvious robot. But if you try for realism and  
> fall short, you wind up in the uncanny valley and could easily creep  
> grandma out...
>
> Stuart LaForge
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
> Oh good point Stuart and a path to success as a bonus.
>
> Plenty of the current very old might remember the old Howdy Doody  
> show.  We could easily rig
>
> 1)  a Howdy Doody ventriloquist dummy (350 sheckels)
> 2)  perhaps six of actuators (two rotational, four linear) (about  
> 300 doubloons):
[. . .]

> We are safely on the other side of uncanny valley from us and still  
> under 900 bucks worth of hardware.  Now if we can create software  
> that doesn't get too crazy sophisticated and get that (possibly  
> tricky) six actuators assembly labor cost (down to an hour per  
> unit?) we can perhaps still hit the magic 3 digit numbers, assuming  
> high volume purchases on all components.  Alternative, go with a  
> four-actuator Howdy with only jaw, eyes in two axes and eyebrows,  
> shoot for a two hundred guinea dummy.

Do we want a two foot dummy in a full-sized wheelchair for comic effect?

> I would think the total cost to manufacture needs to be well under  
> 1k, so that the retail price is 1400-1500 range price point.
>
> Stuart you are a business guy, ja?  Does this look like a feasible  
> opportunity?  It kinda does to me too.

Ja. I even have some potentially useful parts from a failed drone  
start-up like lithium batteries and what not. Count me in. :-)

Stuart LaForge