(msnbc)
From the get-go, you have to expect a robotic butt to be pretty weird. But to be fair, there are potential applications: training proctologists and massage therapists about that region, for instance. There are similar things to train dentists and joint specialists, after all. Problem is, the creators of this robotic butt don't seem to have had any practical considerations in mind at all. It's not a medical accessory, or a therapeutic device. It's just a twitching, quivering, hissing robotic butt.

The creators say that the robot, called Shiri, "represents emotions with visual and tactual transformation of the muscles." Furthermore, it is an attempt "to approach the creation of sensitive and subtle expression by a humanoid robot using organic constructs."

In pursuit of this goal, the creators nautrally chose the most expressive organ: the butt.
(more)