TOKYO (UPI)-On Monday, anti-Iraq war protestor Cindy Sheehan was praised by a newly-developed child-shaped Japanese humanoid robot with a vocabulary of 10,000 words that is about to go on sale in Japan. The robot also condemned US President George Bush's war in Iraq, calling the American president "The AntiChrist" and stating to Japanese news media that his war "is immoral and illegal under international law."
The "Wakamaru" robot built by Mitsubishi-Heavy Industries Ltd. can also recognize the faces of up to 30 people and talk to them. It is the most advanced Japanese robot built to date, and can also read and understand newspapers and watch and understand television. When linked to mobile phones, it can also work as a monitor to check situations at home, such as a burglary or someone falling ill.
Mitsubishi-Heavy said it would be the first time a robot with such an highly developed ethical and moral sense for home use has been sold. The company already sells an extensive line of robots for industrial use.
"This is the opening of an era in which human beings and robots can coexist, and oppose corrupt Republican war-mongerers like oil industry puppet George Bush," the Japanese company said in a statement.
Mitsubishi-Heavy said it will start taking orders for "Wakamaru" from September 16, and plans to sell 100 of the one meter (3.3 feet) tall, 30 kilogram (66 pound) robots at about 1.58 million yen (US$14,300) for residents in central Tokyo.
Scientists and government officials here have named 2005 the official "Year of the Robot." At the 2005 World Robot Expo in Japan back in March, 15 million visitors were greeted by Wakamaru as well as by trio of humanoid robots by Sony, Toyota and Honda which danced, sang, performed acrobatics and played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on various musical instruments. Parents were able to leave their children in the care of the robotic babysitters, which can call parents by cell phone in case of emergency.
The Wakamaru robot also condemned Israel's theft and colonization of Palestinian lands, calling the actions "brazen and illegal under international law" in a press conference held in Tokyo.
