(repost)
Showa Hanako is a dental training robot developed by the department of Orthodontics at the Showa University (SU) in Japan. The PVC skinned bot would move in a limited fashion using a hydraulic system. Limited movement and speech capabilities were built in. This bot was the 3rd generation of the University's line of training robots. Some of the complaints were the un-lifelike skin, odd stare, and the motion of the overall system. The Showa Hanako was never available for wide spread distribution due to the designer Tmsuk's inability to handle global repair issues. But all this is soon to change.
Showa University is going to attempt wide spread sales of their new upgraded Showa Hanako 2 dental training robot. This new bot swaps the PVC skin for realistic silicon skin. It now has an upgraded mouth with 2 degrees of movement for the tongue. The whole body has switch to motor actuation. The bot blinks, sneezes, coughs, shakes its head, gets tired of holding its mouth open, and has an expanding vocabulary. The smooth realistic oral cavity is currently being put through the patent process. IT software company, RayTron, has built in a voice recognition system able to hear a masked dentist and respond accordingly.
The sudden upgrade of parts comes from the Japanese company Orient Industries (OI), famous for "love dolls." OI has been build human shaped dolls since 1977. Their "Real Love Doll" line has figures with silicon skin with every joint movable in natural human positions. SU even admitted they needed OI's help in creating a realistic patient down to every detail. "Even the smallest mistake would be unforgivable."
More on the Showa Hanako 2 :
The Showa Hanako 2 even vomits when a student user touches the uvula (sensor).