THE final day of this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival – the 30th such event –takes place tomorrow and will include the sixth Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire at Summerhall.
A day-long celebration of all forms of creativity, the faire is a gathering of creators from Edinburgh and beyond who will showcase all the things they make and do.
They range from engineers to artists and crafters to scientists, and the event gives them a chance to show off their hobbies, experiments, projects and ideas.
A major feature this year will be the Laser Garden, a futuristic technology-influenced art project by Edinburgh-based designer Johnathan Elders.
It explores the idea of evolution through technology, using a combination of lasers and haze to create ethereal, wearable art.
Haze and very low lighting will be a feature of this call and light drawing will be available.
The festival heard earlier from an expert that hundreds of people in the UK could own sex robots within a year, when they are expected to go on sale here.
In a talk on the future of human sexuality, Dr Kate Devlin, from Goldsmiths, University of London, said the machines will have facial expressions, the ability to move their heads and hold conversations with their owners.
Devlin said that while they could be popular with single people, c ouples might also buy them as well.
“These robots will be bought by people who have a fetish but also by people who have a relationship but their partner is not willing or able to have sex with them,” said the computing expert.
“They will also be popular with single people seeking companionship. These robots are something to talk to, as well as a sex toy of sorts.”
The robots will also be able to remember facts about their owners such as names and birthdays.
“The first sex robots will be quite rudimentary. They will have an AI [artificial intelligence] ‘personality’ and the ability to chat with you.”
Devlin added: “The race is on to produce them first and they are coming soon.”
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