“At first, I started to make human-like robotic parts that attached with household appliances.” explains Dr. Hirotaka Osawa,
a visiting researcher in the National Institute of Informatics and Keio University. “I transforms an object into an agent using attachable human-like ‘eye’, ‘arm’, ‘mouth’, and ‘skin’ devices.”
The (faux) human body parts are attached to mechanical devices such as refrigerators, ovens, exercise bikes and office shredders in order to determine how human-like appearance and attitude might be able to improve interaction between a user and machines. (see this video courtesy TV Tokyo)
His paper: Using Attachable Humanoid Parts for Realizing Imaginary Intention and Body Image is published in the International Journal of Social Robotics Volume 1, Number 1, 109-123,
Also see; Tickling Robots in Siena (Improbable Research Oct. 2010)