Banryu, Robot Or Dragon?

Roland Piquepaille writes "When Yoichi Takamoto, president of the small Japanese company Tmsuk, decided to build a robotic guard for your house, he was not able to use the familiar design of a dog. The idea was already taken by Sony, with its successful Aibo. Instead, he decided to develop the Banryu (or "guard dragon") robots. After all, nobody has ever seen a real dragon. So he was free to design it as he wished. The result is a scary robot which is 90 centimeters tall, weighs 35 kilograms, has more than 50 built-in sensors and can transmit an alarm to its master's cell phone if someone tries to invade the house. It doesn't come cheap. The price is about $18,000, but you can choose between five colors. The Asahi Shimbun tells us the story, while this overview includes several pictures of the frightening dragon." This is scary?

Oh, well then

[iswm]

The price is about $18,000, but you can choose between five colors.
Oh, 5 colors! That explains it.

Re:Oh, well then

[Platinum Dragon]

The price is about $18,000, but you can choose between five colors.
Oh, 5 colors! That explains it.

And the RPG geeks can have their chromatic and metallic dragons at the same time.

Something tells me you can't get these things in platinum, though.

Re:Oh, well then

[SB9876]

For 18 grand, it *should* be made of platinum.

Re:Oh, well then

[BlowChunx]

... a real geek would have said gold-pressed latinum.

Re:Oh, well then

[s0l0m0n]

Ok, when I read your comment, I couldn't help but think how much cooler this 'dragon' would be if it did have an RPG..

C'mon.. Am I the only one who thought that a guard *dragon* would have a *flame thrower* in it's mouth?

Re:Oh, well then

[Squarepusher]

So I break into your place, this thing starts screeching at me. It's a dragon so naturally I'm scared right? Now I run away...but not before I smash the robotic howler monkey with something blunt and now you're out 18 grand. Ah, but at least your $2000.00 computer is safe. Yay!

Ooh, but if it's the black one maybe I'll steal it instead. The red would clash with my walls and white is a touch austere don't you think?

This is an impractical post put up for the purpose of being silly.

---

Re:Oh, well then

[QEDog]

The way it works to secure your house is that it detours thieves: they rather just steal the $18k robot that they can just grab and run than your car, computer or others.

Re:Oh, well then

[Anonymous Coward]

The way it works to secure your house is that it detours thieves: they rather just steal the $18k robot that they can just grab and run than your car, computer or others.

Or you could just put out a sign:

I JUST SPENT $18,000 ON MY SECURITY SYSTEM, CAN'T AFFORD ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'D WANT TO STEAL

Totally Worthless

[Fallout2man]

Honestly, what good is an expensive guard robot that just alerts you? If I spent tens of thousands on a robot to protect my house from intruders, I want it to be able to tear any woodbee burglars to shreds.

Re:Totally Worthless

[Fallout2man]

And I just realized I should've used the preview button before posting that.

Re:Totally Worthless

[elmegil]

I've always been worried about people steeling my woodbees too.

Re:Totally Worthless

[Stinking Pig]

Woodbees [utoronto.ca] are pretty ferocious, and may someday be able to able to eat plastic like that bacteria in _The Andromeda Strain_. They could probably take one of these robots down in a few minutes. Better to have it alert the proper authorities with the proper equipment. [msu.edu]

Re:Oh, well then

[JasonStiletto]

Where do they mount the blast cannon, in the hump? I bet the poison needle is the only reason they bothered giving it the head. Needs a Cylon roving lead display on the head, too. It also looks like the legs are too stubby to properly leap and grab people's face with the metal blades that you would just have to add to the leg units. And, somewhere or another, there should be at LEAST one taser. All in all, needs work, but sign me up once you add the accessory package. Although, if you add th lethal en

Re:Oh, well then

[H1r0Pr0tag0n1st]

Sure. And next thing you know you have Tom Sellek rolling arpond your house in lightweight chainmail while the baby cries....

Re:Oh, well then

[Lord Ender]

"Needs a Cylon roving lead display on the head, too."

It may be pronounced "lead," but you are referring to Light Emmiting Diodes, or L.E.D.s. They don't use Pb at all.

Re:Oh, well then

[johnMG]

The price is about $18,000, but you can choose between five colors.

Owner: We sell forbidden objects from places men fear to tread. We also sell frozen yogurt, which I call Frogurt!

Owner: Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse!
Homer: Ooooh, that's bad.
Owner: But it comes with a free Frogurt!
Homer: That's good.
Owner: The Frogurt is also cursed.
Homer: That's bad.
Owner: But you get your choice of topping!
Homer: That's good.
Owner: The toppings contains Potassium Benzoate.
Homer: ...
Owner: Tha

This is scary?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is scary?

You insensitive clod, it could give people nightmares! Like Furby or The Teletubbies!

If you want scary, consider this.

[leonbrooks]

Dragons did, possibly still do exist.

There have been plenty of credible reports documenting them down through the ages, including some which go into enough consisent detail to rule that some of them did indeed have unusually hot breath (if not up to the standards of (e.g.) Shrek's donkey's newfound romantic interest). Some could fly, some could not, but I somehow doubt that the fliers did it with vestigial/token wings like the ones depicted on said romantic interest.

Since very few of the dinosaurs proper

Scary

[Matrix2110]

"This is scary"

I don't know about you but the price scared me plenty.

Our chief futurologist, Neal Stephenson

[Remillard]

I've said it before (just as recently as the Movieoke post a day or two ago, where it seems like we're a hairsbreadth from the 'ractives featured in The Diamond Age. This seems to be a hairsbreadth from Fido in Snow Crash. I think I will have to reread everything to see if I can't spot the next trend. The unfortunate thing is that he's been so prolific with ideas that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Re:Our chief futurologist, Neal Stephenson

[Migrant Programmer]

This seems to be a hairsbreadth from Fido in Snow Crash.

My God, you're right! The very next thing is going to be killer nuclear-powered cyborg dogs!

"Hairsbreadth" from Rat Things, heh.

Nonono, people must listen to Reason(tm)

[janbjurstrom]

Ah to hell with the dogs, I want a Reason! :)

Ray Bradbury

[NoData]

Haven't read Stephenson, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw this thing was The Hound from Fahrenheit 451...all spiderlike and venomous. All it needs is a 4 inch needle proboscis to deliver the lethal dose of morphine.

Re:Our chief futurologist, Neal Stephenson

[Stinking Pig]

Here's a hint -- the needles are in Snow Crash and Diamond Age. Everything else is hay. Zodiac and Cryptonomicon are readable hay. Quicksilver is not even that.

Anyway, I doubt this thing can break the sound barrier.

dragcowbot

[tasinet]

dragon? Don't they mean cow? Seriously now, does this resemble a dragon more or a cow?

Re:dragcowbot

[Epistax]

It more resembles a cow. Of course I assume you are referring to the rare cow without wings.

Re:dragcowbot

[Qinopio]

Nah, it's a turtle!

Turtles can be scary, just look at Gamera... or Blastoise. What?

Re:dragcowbot

[Gherald]

to me it looks more like a camel [weblogs.com]

Re:dragcowbot

[Goldfinger7400]

Dragoncow says M'roar.

Um. FUGLY

[h2odragon]

... where is the live hologram technology we were promised in those "world of tomorrow" cartoons? this thing needs to be skinable. it should look like that hot pink chick in "shrek", dammit.

and it needs a flamethrower.

Re:Um. FUGLY

[Afrosheen]

If it was built in South Africa, it'd probably have a flamethrower as an option [cnn.com]. That's just so awesome.

scary?

[cybercyph]

sure, i could see that being scary. if it had built in blow torches...and were 9 feet tall.

Re:scary?

[Jeremi]

sure, i could see that being scary. if it had built in blow torches...and were 9 feet tall

Come to think of it, I've always wanted a giant mechanical spider that I could commute to work on. Why don't the Japanese come up with one of those?

Dragon? More like a, well...

[Qweezle]

Hey, it might be frightening if you were a little person.

Or a baby.

But I don't see the "dragon" resemblance...looks more to me like the robot from Lost in Space paired with 4 spider legs and a...well...I'll leave you to decide what the small, skinny, football shaped thing in the front is.

I guess it is supposed to be a head. Now, isn't that an interesting coincidence...

:-P

Price?

[bobthemuse]

Even with 50 sensors and a system to read and process the data, how do they come up with $18,000? If it could walk up stairs, right itself, etc, I might understand, but it doesn't look that way. I can cobble together a PC, appropriate sensor receivers (BTW, what do they need 50 sensors for? Every joint?), and some software for a heck of a lot less than that. It wouldn't look as cool, but it would do the same thing.

Re:Price?

[black mariah]

Then do it. Sell it. Make a fortune.

Re:Price?

[iminplaya]

...how do they come up with $18,000?

Maybe it's "powered" by a mac :-)

Fiery breath of doom burns actual currency

[SuperKendall]

Well, as you say really the thing only costs about $500 in parts. But part of what makes it scary, AND a dragon, is the fiery breath - after extensive research it was found that the most efficient fuel source for said breath is $100 bills. So it comes equipped with about $17.5k of ammo to use for fiery ruination for would-be interlopers.

Re:Price?

[madpierre]

Parts + Labour ... $59.95

Cost for marketing dept to come up with
the name Dragon. $17,940

Profit ... $0.05.

Total ... $18000.

just like the DnD movie

[QEDog]

Just imagine a beowulf cluster of these. Just like the DnD movie! *schivers* I can't believe I watched that horrible movie...

cheaper solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Buy a gun.

Re:cheaper solution

[Rob Simpson]

I believe the idea was to "guard" (watch) the house while you're not home. Shoddily executed, though. It should at least have a built-in gun and the ability to recognize and shoot intruders. Laser beams, flamethrowers, and diamond claws are optional.

Que?

[erikharrison]

This is scary?

This is a dragon?

Tachikoma?

[Googo]

Just me, or do they kinda look like the tachikomas in Ghost in the shell.

Re:Tachikoma?

[Smidge204]

It's not just you. Especially from the front view!

I'd rather have a Tachikoma, though... unless this thing can be fitted with a flamethrower... hmm.
=Smidge=

Re:Tachikoma?

[No Such Agency]

I was thinking of the tunnel sentry robots from Patlabor 2 myself...

Re:Tachikoma?

[nazsco]

If they act like the tachikomas, the buglars may expect a invite for a tea with biscuits while sacking your house.

This is scary?

[djupedal]

In the dark....and you with nothing but a dull knife to threaten the opposition, this thing can light up like Fire Island on nitro, and you will want to be anywhere else but in the same room.

Dragon theft?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm.. at $18,000 I think any burglar who gets caught by the dragon will thank his lucky stars and steal it.

Other options available!

[Daemongar]

Choose between:
60, 90, and 120 hit points!
Your choice of virgin damsels!
Comes in varied alignments!
Speaks Common, Japanese, Digital, and Draconic!

All for a mere 18,000 Gold Pieces!

Re:Other options available!

[Hawkxor]

You forgot the disclaimers:

Treasure Horde not included.
Wings sold separately.
Vocal Chords sold separately.
Fire Drivers sold separately.
Destruction of nearby villages and other damages caused are responsibility of purchaser.
Only Royal Standard Crown Gold Pieces accepted, buyer pays entire sum up front.
Dragon may mate with cows.
Resulting Cowragons may spread mad cowragon disease.
Mad Cowragon disease vaccine sold separately.

domo origato Mr Roboto...

[segment]

Let's see what would scare people in my neck of the woods (NYC East New York to be exact)... Mr. Roboto or Mr. Glocko [inflitrated.net]

dumb ass

[segment]

damn I'm dumb [infiltrated.net]

Hrm...

[m0nm0n]

Eighteen grand for a humidifier with legs? I've seen scarier Legos.

Guard Dragon?

[OutRigged]

It looks like a Guard Turtle to me. *shrug*

Dragon?...

[Dachannien]

I dunno, it didn't remind me of a dragon in the least. It looked a lot more like a dog.

It did remind me a little bit of the hexapod tank from Ghost in the Shell, though, which means that the way to counter this sucker is to use your "standard big-ass gun".

What a waste of time and energy

[chiyosdad]

This guy has the technology to make robots, and the most useful application he could think of was a "dragon" to guard your home? When are they going to come out with things we actually care about, like virtual sex androids? I think there would be a huge market for those babies.

Re:What a waste of time and energy

[thinkninja]

Realdolls [realdoll.com] are apparently freakishly realistic [nerve.com].

Registration required? Google cached [66.102.11.104] it anyway.

Re:What a waste of time and energy

[QEDog]

like virtual sex androids? I think there would be a huge market for those babies.

When you say babies, you mean the half-robot/half-human borg-like babies that would come out of such kind of sexual relationships?

Re:What a waste of time and energy

[Xtraneous]

Oh...!

So that's where the borg came from!

Re:What a waste of time and energy

[Walt Dismal]

yes, but why spend all that money when whiskey is cheap and Catholic school girls so plentiful?

Amazing...

[Duncan3]

Wow, that sure beats the heck out of a couple webcams and some sensons for Radio Shack.

Of wait, no it doesnt. It's just stupid looking, and you can SEE it, which kinda goes against the concept of hiding the security system...

Get a dog.

Shades of Katsuhiro Ohtomo?

[NeuroManson]

He produced an animated movie titled Rojin Z (early 90s IIRC), about a robotic "sick bed" that would be commited to the elderly as caregivers. In essense that seems to be the pattern forming.

Groklaw Webdesign?

[SharpFang]

http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/2004/03/06.html
http://www.groklaw.net/

Just compare and tell who stole whose webdesign, or maybe which template does it come from?

The word "Dragon" might be misleading...

[Avaclon]

Considering that the word Dragon in Japan is Ryu, which is also used in reference to Dinosaurs. In Asia, the words for dinosaurs are also dragon. It makes much more sense that the ryu used in this case is referring the robot as a dinosaur, not a dragon.

Besides, it looks like a Stegosaurus to me.

copyright? patent?

[myowntrueself]

"he was not able to use the familiar design of a dog. The idea was already taken by Sony, with its successful Aibo."

Does this mean that noone is ever going to be able to make a robot dog ever again (apart from with permission of and payment to Sony)??

Or was he just concerned that the public would see it as an aibo lookalike?

Re:copyright? patent?

[Goldfinger7400]

Well, if he made it a dog then he wouldn't be able to charge four times as much for a 'bot that does less. Seriously, how hard to write a software for the AIBO so it would call your phone if it detected intruders? For the price of a Nissan it better have gatling guns.

Re:copyright? patent?

[Bagheera]

Somehow I think "Boxy" or whatever the robot dog in Battlestar Galactica counts as "Prior art" in the patent department. Never mind it was -actually- a chimp in a robomutt costume, the idea of a robot dog was there.

Professional courtesy, perhaps?

Re:prior art.

[tekrat]

How about 'Lectronimo from the Jetsons?

I want a guard dragon

[bersl2]

in the shape of Trogdor.

"Trespassers will be burninated!"

I mean, I'd buy it...

When I was younger...

[Anonymous Coward]

Robots were cool. They were either really smart tins on wheels (R2D2) that shot a lightsaber your way in times of need, golden droids that looked like a person (C3P0) and could speak 3 billion dialects, or huge kick ass killing machines with gatling guns (ED209). In short, robots were cool and I wanted one.

However, this story has me convinced that all we're gonna end up with is fscking Muffet from Galactica... Thanks Far Eastern robot wizard dudes... Thanks very much!

Dragon? Then why does it say Dinosaur on the side?

[johnny6vasquez]

Look at the flash slideshow and see for yourself...

clicky [banryu.jp]

Dinosaur?

[bo0ork]

Is this a case of engrish [engrish.com]? Looking at some of the pictures in the flash animation [banryu.jp], the text on the machine seems to be Banryu Neo Dinosaur. Or something very close to it.

$18k?!?!?

[sakusha]

Shit, you could wire a whole house with sensors and cameras for that kind of money. Hell, you could wire TWO whole houses, or MORE.

idea already taken by Sony

[frovingslosh]

he was not able to use the familiar design of a dog. The idea was already taken by Sony,

What's scary to me is the belief that Sony somehow owns the idea of robot dogs, just because they built one.

Design!

[evilmrhenry]

OK, these people need lessons in designing killer robots. Three points:

1) Sharp jagged edges. This thing looks like it could safely be left with a kid.

2) Metal. Plastic is not useful for scaring people.

3) Red glowing parts. 'Nuff said.

Compare the cost for this with a series of security cameras, which have metal, sharp edges, and red glowing parts if you go with the right vendor.

Dunno about you, but I'm terrified.

[Malor]

"Run away, intruder, or I shall gum you to death!"

Suggestion for rev 2.0: fangs and claws are much more visually impressive than smoothly rounded corners. :-)

Tachikoma

[Lord_Dweomer]

Me thinks he's been watching a little too much Ghost in the Shell:SAC. Seriously, doesn't this just look a LITTLE similar [idorudepot.de]?

Re:Tachikoma

[McCarrum]

Yup! First thing I thought of when I saw it ..

I just wish it a) had 6 legs, b) I could hop into it and drive to work, and c) would mount weapons on it.

could be just a little bit better

[skydude_20]

For $18,000 it should be able to breathe fire and bring burnination to any intruders!

Next step, telemarketing

[k4_pacific]

telemarketer: Hi, I'm calling from ADC Home Security systems, how are you today, Mr. Hood?

me: Not to good.

telemarketer: Excellent, We are calling because we giving a way 20 free robotic house-gaurding dragons to people in your neighborhood and you have been selected to receive one. This dragon, an $18,000 value, will guard your home when your gone, perform CPR if you choke, or call the police if there's a fire. Plus, it comes in your choice of five colors. This is yours for free when you sign up for our $2995 a month service and monitoring plan for five years. That's less than a hundred dollars a day.

me: That's not free.

telemarketer: Yes, but surely you can't put a price on your family's safety.

me: I wouldn't have thought so either, but here we are.

telemarketer: But this robotic dragon is the greatest technological marvel since the beginning of time. It also can scorch intruders into charcoal and catch you if you fall down the stairs. Is there any reason you aren't interested?

me: I already have a security system, actually.

telemarketer: May I ask what brand?

me: It's a hedge maze in the front yard.

telemarketer: Really, does it work?

me: I haven't seen the mailman in a while, so I guess so.

telemarketer: Hmmm. *click*

Re:Next step, telemarketing

[Mitreya]

Give credit where it is due. I think that's a line from Simpsons:

Ex-con Home Security Guy: But surely you couldn't put a price on your family's lives.

Homer: I wouldn't have thought so either, but here we are.

Same company that made "Enryu" mentioned before

[Takuryu]

This is the same company that developed "Enryu" which was mentioned on /. a while back: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/11/141524 5&mode=thread [slashdot.org]

Banryu mentioned _way_ before

[AndroidCat]

And I submitted a Banryu story 11/06/2002. (There may have been an accepted article about it as well.) Here's a link to Dino-robot promises mobile assistance [ananova.com] from 13th November 2002. "They plan to begin selling it in Japan by the end of next year." Hmm.

Call that a Dragon?

[Un0r1g1nal]

Thats got to be the worst dragon I have ever seen. and for 18k? I would hardly say that people don't know what a dragon 'looks' like. There are many pictures/representations of what people perceive dragons to look like, and I would hazard a guess that a class of 5year olds could come up with a more 'realistic' design. The Mark Tilden [solarbotics.net] guy that had the $100 dollar robots, [slashdot.org] now they were good. and they could run and wouldnt fall over etc. Now get a few of them hooked up with sensors and you would have a

I'd Rather Have a Sexy Fembot

[Nom du Keyboard]

I'd rather have a sexy fembot guardian. She could seduce the intruder to death (no lawsuits for excessive force here), and be useful the rest of the time as well.

So How Long Before...

[Nom du Keyboard]

So how long before it has its own anime series?

goddamn freaking DUPE

[way2trivial]

Sanyo Announces "Banryu" Home Security Robot [slashdot.org]
On November 13th, 2002 with 205 comments

Uh, what? Non Sequitur

[HeXetic]

"The price is about $18,000, but you can choose between five colors."

This has to be the most absurd thing I've heard all year (yeah, all three months, ha ha). What possible connection does being expensive have to do with coming in five colors?

Honestly, it's on par with The Simpsons' "Beware! It carries a terrible curse! But it comes with a free frozen yogurt, which I call frogurt"

Not very practical

[Tablizer]

To disarm it, just throw lots of water on it. "Bow Wow Bo....zzzzzzt!"

A more cost-effective solution would be to put video cameras all over your yard. An intrusion detector could set off your pager/phone and you could log in on the web at work to look around.

Similarities...

[Bagels]

This robot reminds me an awful lot of the design of the ORGA 'bots in the anime Gilgamesh (still running and unlicensed, grab a fansub at your favorite torrent site). I can't find a picture of them (behind a filter, so I can't use Google Image Search), but they're more or less the same as the robot, but with a No-mask like face. Also, they're actually genetically engineered humans underneath the robot-like shell, a la Evangelion, so anyone who buys these "dragons" should be aware of the potential human ri

...and I thought SUV's were a retarded waste of $

[slappyjack]

I mean, really. Someone breaks into your house and hears this:

"FREEZE INTRUDER! Do not move while this autonomous robotic guard unit apprehends you."

whirr... thunk. whirr... thunk. whirr... thunk.

"This guard unit has commanded you to FREEZE!"

whirr... thunk. whirr... thunk. whirr... thunk.

"Hey, damnit, stop, I'm trying to... who the fuck left this stick in the middle of the room?"

thunk. thunk. thunk. thunk. whirr... thunk. whirr... thunk.

"Wait! aww, c'mon... "

whirr... whirr... ....

"Shit."

---

Quite a long ways off from that bitchin' mecha-thing from Robocop, neh?

Not and Doesn't

[Compulawyer]

1. Scary; and
2. Look like a dragon

Then again, if you think mobile, electronically communicating Tupperware is scary ...

i can see it coming...

[cribb]

Crouching Robot - Hidden Dragon, anyone?

hmm

[Hythlodaeus]

I can think of better things to deter thieves than $18,000 portable objects. Unless they came equipped with weaponry. Then I could think of better things to make me feel safe in my home.

How many intruders does it have to eat...

[Maul]

How many intruders does it have to eat to achieve Burnination?

oooow, scary

[HangingChad]

But can we mount a "laser" on its nose? Come on, people, what good is a robot guard without a laser?

Why make robots?

[dokebi]

It seems to me most of the commenters so far posted seem to laugh at or are purplexed by this "house guard." What they seem to not understand is what all these robot technology is ultimately supposed to do: replace people in menial labor.

They are making small steps to make robots a practical consumer device--pets, house guards, robot vacuum cleaners, small child-like assistants for the elderly (Honda). Eventually they will do more, but the basic technology has to be perfected, and market developed.

Sure,

K9 is *way* better

[MegaFur]

K9 is *way* better. I mean, sure he can be knocked on his side more easily than this thing can, but at least he's got a decent lasergun in his nose.

A robot Dragon?

[Lord Ender]

I think this calls for some burnination! And where's the big beefy arm?