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The Art and Science of Japanese Robots
Kodansha International
August 2006
On Sale: July 28, 2006
160 pages
ISBN: 4770030126
EAN: 9784770030122
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
A fascination with
robots pervades Japanese culture, from cartoon shows to
consumer toys
to corporate engineering research. While in the West, robots
are seen
as threatening—think of the "Terminator"-style tales of
technology out
to destroy its human creators—in Japan, robots are far more
commonly
seen as partners, cooperating with the humanity whose image
they wear.
And several companies, including Honda, Sony, Fujitsu, and
JVC, have
spent millions in developing robots who return the
investment not
through money but by serving as technological ambassadors to the
public. LOVING THE MACHINE: The Art and Science of
Japanese Robots
explores the reasons behind Japan's unique affection for
robots, and
looks at the surprising direction in which robo-mania is
taking the
country. Science and technology journalist Timothy N.
Hornyak takes readers on a fascinating and
beautifully-illustrated tour
through the robot kingdom, interacting with the latest
technological
pets and playmates, interviewing the engineers and designers
currently
creating the inhabitants of tomorrow, and even visiting the
Osaka
RoboCup, where every year teams of robots from across the
world face
off in games of soccer. Along the way, Hornyak reveals several
different factors that have played a part in Japan's
enthusiasm for
robots. LOVING THE MACHINE opens in
the 1600s,
when craftsmen formed automated dolls that served tea;
Japanese robots
took another leap forward in the 1950s when Mighty Atom
(known to U.S.
audiences as Astro Boy) launched a series of adventures that
influenced
generations of children and spawned numerous other
mechanical heroes,
including Mazinger Z, Mobile Suit Gundam, and the battling
mega-mechs
of contemporary anime and manga. Science fiction isn't the
only place
that plays home to robots: Hornyak visits industrial trade
fairs and
assembly lines, where robots have played a major role in
transforming
Japan into an exporting powerhouse. LOVING
THE MACHINE
also looks to the future, when robots will increasingly
interact with
people on a daily basis, even in their own homes. More
charismatic with
each generation, robots are not only becoming useful to a
greater
degree, they are also becoming progressively adept in
serving human
needs for companionship and productive interaction.
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