People in this 400-year-old temple worship a robot 'Goddess'
What's the story
People visiting Japan's 400-year-old Kodaiji temple will soon be worshipping a new robot deity. The administrators of the Kyoto-based temple have unveiled a robotic avatar of Kannon, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, as a way to keep the younger generation connected with Buddhism. The bot has been named 'Mindar' and can even deliver a 25-minute-long sermon to the worshippers. Here's all about it.
Appearance
Mindar takes a 'gender-neutral' form
Designed by Osaka University's Hiroshi Ishiguro, Mindar takes a gender-neutral form. It evokes both masculine and feminine qualities with an open head exposing aluminum wires, plain facial features, and a mechanical lower half. "If someone wants to treat the Android as a man, there will be some elements that represent a male form and vice versa," Kohei Ogawa, Ishiguro's teammate, told The Diplomat.
Features
Plus, Mindar makes eye contact, human-like gestures
Along with the unusual 'mechanical' appearance, Mindar will also be wooing worshippers with its ability to move. According to the researchers, the robot 'Goddess' can join its hands or move its eyes and torso while delivering sermon to the worshippers. Plus, it can even make human-like gestures or focus on a particular subject so that it looks like it is making an eye contact.
Sermon
It delivers Sermon with detailed 'answers'
The 25-minute-long sermon - a religious text called Heart Sutra - delivered by Mindar has been pre-programmed by its developers. However, unlike most monks that just recite the text, the Android deity will also be offering some explanation for the text. Basically, a person projected on the wall behind Mindar will ask questions about Heart Sutra while the robot will offer answers in Japanese.
Quote
This would be like a 'real-time interaction'
"Kannon Android can convey very complicated messages to visitors, which makes it easier for them to listen to the message," Ogawa told The Diplomat. "Visitors feel as if the robot and the person projected on the screen are making a real-time interaction."
Impact
Still, this is a great way to expand religious perception
The idea to introduce a robotic deity with gender-neutral features is a new take at the perception of religious deities. According to the researchers, it diversifies how people see and worship the gods they believe in. Notably, Mindar robot will be open to the public from March 8 as part of a two-month-long trial run; following this, its data will be analyzed for updates.