Japanese researchers at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International seem to think that making a humanoid-looking phone and covering it in a material that feels like skin will make us feel closer to whoever we’re talking to. Judging from that photo, I’d be seriously weirded out.
The phone, which is made to look like a genderless, ageless person, resembles the creepy sperm baby robot thing we wrote about back in August (got the chills just thinking about it). A loudspeaker is located in its head, and it glows red or blue in the chest depending on whether it’s in use or on standby. And if you think I’m going to talk to something that looks like a premature fetus, you’re crazy. [AFP/PhysOrg]