In Japan, the search for lifelike robots that can serve practical tasks continues unabated, with the rest of the world watching in hushed awe. Here we have Hanako Showa, a dental simulator pretending to be a Japanese woman. She giggles, winces in pain, has a moving tongue, and even features a gag reflex among other things. The device is the result of a collaboration between Tmsuk, a robot maker, and three Japanese universities that worked on the medical side of the project.
Here are a couple videos of Hanako seeing a dentist:
More from Pink Tentacle: Hanako Showa dental patient robot…
(hat tip: CrunchGear)