Hanako Showa: Dentally disturbed robot

Hey, those are some nice teeth on that robot. Her robot parents must have paid a lot for braces. (Video by YouTube user kmoriyama)

Over at CNET Asia, resident automaton expert Tim Hornyak writes about a robot developed in Japan for use in training dentists. The android named Hanako Showa -- really? not H4N4K0-5H0W4 or something more sci-fi sounding? -- comes from impossible-to-pronounce Japanese robot developer Tmsuk.

Hanako Showa is modeled after a 152cm tall Japanese female, perhaps under the idea that male dental students should fall in love with their patients and female dental students should not have to worry about the cigarette-scarred coffee breath and sexual harassment of an older male robot. Actually, the CNET article claims that the female gender was chosen in order for dentists to learn how to avoid touching patients' breasts when diving into the oral cavity. Good point.

Although the adorable looks are a nice touch, the best part of this new technology is that when dental students goof and accidentally drill into Hanako's gums, she violently jerks her head away and says, "Ouch!" And touching near the uvula makes Hanako heave. If anything, this technological advance has shown us that the careful handiwork of board game "Operation" is basically an accurate representation of the entire medical/dental profession. All technical progress since then has just been gilding the lily.