World's first talking robot-astronaut ready to go to space

In a world first, Japan is set to send a talking robot-astronaut to the International Space Station to conduct the first conversation between a human and a robot in outer space.

Kirobo, the robot astronaut, is scheduled to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center, located in southwestern Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture, aboard the Kounotori 4 cargo spacecraft to ISS on August 4.

Named after a combination of the Japanese word kibo, or "hope", and the word "robot", the Kirobo project is part of an experiment that will see the first human-robot conversation held in space, the 'Japan Daily Press' reported.

Kirobo is about 34 centimetres tall and weighs about one kilogramme, which makes it smaller than most robots that go into space.

The robot has already undergone several pre-launch tests, including simulations with zero gravity, the report said.

During one of the first demonstrations, the robot's developers asked Kirobo what its dream was. It replied that it "hoped to create a future where humans and robots live together and get along."

Kirobo, the talking robot, was jointly developed by the University of Tokyo, Toyota, and Dentsu Inc.

With new tech, any surface can be touchscreen

A latest experimental technology system, called WorldKit reportedly turns any surface into a touchscreen by pairing a depth-sensing camera lens with a projector lens.

According to Fox News, WorldKit's aim is to transform all of the surroundings into touchscreens, equipping walls, tables, and couches with interactive and intuitive controls.

Chris Harrison, a soonto-be professor in human computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon University and Robert Xiao, a PhD candidate at Carnegie Mellon and lead researcher have together come up with the latest innovation. Harrison said that it is an interesting space of having projected interfaces on the environment, using the whole world as a sort of gigantic tablet.

Xiao said that the technology allows users to select a surface and 'paint' an interactive object on it like a 'button' or a 'sensor' after which the selected area is used to display a chosen interface, such as a menu bar or a sliding lighting-control dial, which can then be manipulated through touch gestures.

The report said that WorldKit's depth sensor is connected to a projector that is mounted to a ceiling or a tripod and its major drawback is its big size.

Experts are positive of exploiting the technology for use in the mobile market in near future and are also envisioning ambitious applications for the technology like experimental interior design which could also be included in gaming potential.

Explaining the contrast between WorldKit and Google's wearable Glass, Xiao said that WorldKit is at an advantage as all the interactions are out in the world and one is thus interacting with something real and tangible, unlike Glass which allows only virtual seeing and not touching, the report said.