Over the past few years we have had a vast array of technological advancements to help us completely avoid the horrors of human interaction.
Don’t want to share a few words with the pizza guy, your Uber driver, or the guy who bags your groceries at the store?
No need to worry anymore lifeless machines will spare you all that, and if your done with dating as well there are plenty of sex robots out there to appease your carnal needs too.
Finally researchers have perfected a way for you to stay social but without actually having to leave the comfort of your own home ever again, by having a surrogate strap on an iPad mast and venture out into the world for you.
Japanese researcher Jun Rekimoto presented his new tech called. ChameleonMask, at the MIT Tech Review’s EmTech this past week,
ChameleonMask has been described as a “Human Uber” but it’s really closer to a mobile FaceTime.
According to the ChameleonMask website, the technology uses a real human as a Surrogate for another remote user, by giving the Surrogate a mask-shaped display that shows the remote user’s live face, and voice.
Rekimoto reportedly described the experience of using a ChameleonMask as “surprisingly natural” which does sound surprising to us.
“Human Uber,” developed in Japan, provides a way to attend events remotely using another person’s body. “It’s surprisingly natural” says its inventor, Jin Rekimoto of Sony #emtechasia pic.twitter.com/WZHPVcZ6M0
— will knight (@willknight) January 30, 2018
The idea of it would work something like this, lets say your friend needs help in moving, but you don’t want to go over and help them move boxes around all day you just hire someone to do the moving for you while having your face on a ChameleonMask from the comfort of your bed and offer your friend some words of encouragement.
Or your a busy dad and don’t have time for your kids send someone to that football or baseball game that you get to, someone in a ChameleonMask will go sit in the stands so you can cheer him on remotely.
From IoT to IoA (Internet of Abilities)? Check out the “human Uber” example discussed at #emtechasia pic.twitter.com/ojIzkrPtv5
— Haley Ross (@haleylaurenross) January 31, 2018
It’s not very clear how exactly a surrogate is able to see, since the ChameleonMask appears to cover the whole head, but maybe there will be eye holes or a screen inside the mask.
Soon you will probably be talking to a stranger wearing your friend’s face at a party…
What a world!
