But Kobashi hinted of a darker side to the robomania that seems about to take hold. Even if the first purchaser is a goodwill organization, if it sells the robot to someone else and the second buyer is, say, a cult and has some evil intention, it can be very dangerous. Indeed, Kobashi said Tmsuk got inquiries from the U.S. Army, among other organizations, when it put Tmsuk 04 up for sale a year ago. Atom, created by one of Japan's most famous cartoonists, Osamu Tezuka, is the pioneer. The comic books are still in print here today, and Sony Pictures Entertainment is producing a movie version in Hollywood for release in 2003, the date Tezuka defined as the year of Atom's birth.
Some Japanese executives say the show was a harbinger of things to come.
Amuse us, for starters. Our researchers are working hard to make them dance better. But Honda and Tmsuk foresee a more utilitarian role. This robot, however, looks far from human. Few besides Tmsuk's Kobashi are talking publicly about what could happen if highly capable robots were to get into the wrong hands.