NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Get ready, robots are coming our way

By Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
news.com.au·
13 Jan, 2018 12:01 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Robots are coming our way. Photo / 123RF

Robots are coming our way. Photo / 123RF

Robot strippers, a Scrabble-playing robot that pours coffe for its human opponent and a robotic puppy that does everything but poop.

The influx of androids, many featuring smoother movement and more artificial intelligence than before, were shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, where 35 exhibitors demonstrated the latest humanoid developments.

The most bizarre stunt featured two robots invading and performing at a strip club.

And then there was Sophia.

Sophia is arguably one of the world's most famous robots. She has been on chat shows, given speeches and even has been made a citizen of Saudi Arabia.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This week she was equipped with legs for the first time thanks to a collaboration between her maker Hanson Robotics, Rainbow Robotics, and Drones and Autonomous Systems Lab.

Hanson Robotics chief scientist Dr Ben Goertzel said giving the robot a more complete form was an important step towards equipping her "with general intelligence at the human level and ultimately beyond".

The new legs, which can move at a top speed of 30cm per second, even allowed her to dance a little.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But the most notable robotic dance at CES was reserved for the Sapphire Gentleman's Club, where two scantily clad robots with CCTV cameras for heads gyrated around poles for the amusement of attendees and locals.

A pole-dancing robot built by British artist Giles Walker performs at a gentlemen's club in Las Vegas. Photo / AP
A pole-dancing robot built by British artist Giles Walker performs at a gentlemen's club in Las Vegas. Photo / AP

While many suspected a canny tech start-up was behind the creations, the robot dancers were actually the work of English scrap metal artist Giles Walker who said he wanted to make a statement about "how everyone is being watched".

Other robots at CES did indeed promise to watch humans, including the adorable Buddy from Blue Frog Robotics, who could be programmed to wake up members of the family, remind them of events, control smart appliances, and patrol the home like a security guard, capturing footage with a built-in camera.

Buddy will sell for US$1,500 ($2,067) at its release later this year.

Discover more

Manufacturing

Tesla's cheaper electric car struggling

04 Jan 10:40 PM
Lifestyle

Male sex robots poised to hit the market

07 Jan 08:14 PM
Employment

How to beat a robot in a job interview

08 Jan 03:04 AM
Business

What stripper robots show us about sexism in tech

12 Jan 05:00 AM

Another cute robot, the return of Sony's Aibo puppy, won hearts and more attention than any of its new TVs at CES.

The upgraded canine robot featured OLED eyes, a webcam nose, more than 4,000 parts, and 22 actuators for more realistic movement.

Aibo fans can pat him on the back, the head, or under the chin to see his reaction, and he uses that webcam in his nose to recognise who delivered the pat.

The newest generation of the Aibo robot, which uses artificial intelligences, is demonstrated on the eve of CES in Las Vegas. Photo / AP
The newest generation of the Aibo robot, which uses artificial intelligences, is demonstrated on the eve of CES in Las Vegas. Photo / AP

The new Aibo is more expensive than many dogs, however, at the New Zealand equivalent of $2,453.

Right now Aibo is only scheduled for launch in Japan.

A Scrabble-playing robot from Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute also proved popular at CES this, placing cubed letters on a large scrabble board to beat human players.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Shares

Market close: Geopolitical tensions keep NZ market flat, US Fed decision looms

18 Jun 06:09 AM
Premium
Business

Fringe Benefit Tax: Should you be paying it if your business owns a ute?

18 Jun 06:00 AM
New Zealand

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

18 Jun 05:23 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Market close: Geopolitical tensions keep NZ market flat, US Fed decision looms

Market close: Geopolitical tensions keep NZ market flat, US Fed decision looms

18 Jun 06:09 AM

The S&P/NZX 50 Index closed down 0.10%, falling to 12,627.32.

Premium
Fringe Benefit Tax: Should you be paying it if your business owns a ute?

Fringe Benefit Tax: Should you be paying it if your business owns a ute?

18 Jun 06:00 AM
'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

18 Jun 05:23 AM
Premium
Liam Dann: 'Brick wall' – why tomorrow’s GDP data won’t tell the real story

Liam Dann: 'Brick wall' – why tomorrow’s GDP data won’t tell the real story

18 Jun 05:17 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP