Scientists have developed an emotional robot capable of mimicking facial expressions in real time, a development that opens up the possibility of lifelike robotic companions one day.
LONDON: Scientists have developed an emotional robot capable of mimicking facial expressions in real time, a development that opens up the possibility of lifelike robotic companions one day.
The project, called 'Human-Robot Interaction', was devised at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), run by the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol.
The first humanoid robot can pull faces just like a human being and replicate ten emotions including happiness, sadness and concern. Copycat robot heads have been created before, but never with realistic human-looking faces.
'Jules' as the androgynous head has been named has a flexible elastic skin made of a substance called Flubber, and can grin, grimace and even furrow its brow, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said on Thursday.
It can automatically copy the movements, which are picked up by a video camera and mapped on to the tiny electronic motors in his skin.
Researchers believe it will help create a new generation of lifelike robots capable of convincing interaction with humans.
Peter Jaeckel, who works in artificial emotion, artificial empathy and humanoids at the BRL, said that the research will help in the creation of lifelike robots to be used as social companions for the elderly, or to assist astronauts in space.
He underlined that Jules's expressions have to look natural in the same way as humans. "Robot appearance and behaviour need to be well matched to meet expectations formed by our social experience," Jaeckel was quoted as saying by the British daily.
"If people were put off it would counteract all efforts to achieve trustworthiness, reliability and emotional intelligence," he stressed.
Robot heads that mimic human expressions have been created before, but 'Jules' is the first humanoid robot who can realistically mimic a real person's expressions merely by watching their face.
But not everyone is impressed by Jules's mastery of mimicry. Kerstin Dautenhahn, a robotics researcher at the University of Herefordshire, believes that people may be disconcerted by humanoid automatons that simply look "too human".
"Research has shown that if you have a robot that has many human-like features, then people might actually react negatively towards it," she said.
It is hoped that the technology developed in Jules will help create robots for use in space, to accompany astronauts on solo missions, and in healthcare settings and nursing homes.
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