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Robot Receptionist with an Attitude

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the bringing-you-more-hecklers dept.

techno-vampire writes "Carnegie Mellon University is experimenting with a robot receptionist with a personality. The article on NPR tells about the receptionist, named Tank. Tank lives in a computer, with a Frankenstein-like face showing on the monitor. He responds to typed-in questions, including personal ones, with a rather curious personality courtesy of the Drama Department. Among other things, he doesn't seem to like his boss, Dr. Reid Simmons, very much. If asked, Tank will tell you he's also worked at NASA, and failed as a satellite robot. A job at the CIA was also a bust. Dr. Simmons explains that they're trying to make it easier for people to interact with robots, and upgrades are planned."

2 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Speech synth still lacking by AndroidCat · · Score: 5, Interesting
    If you RTFA, there's a link "Listen" with audio of the NPR piece. I'm surprised that they're using a speech synth that sounds like it's at least ten years behind the times, as? well? as? sounding? like? every? word? is? a? kvestion?? The Lernout & Hauspie TruVoice engine that MS gives away with SAPI4/Agent is arguably better, and that's 1998 tech from a dead company. (L&H, not MS.)

    A good speech synth would add a lot to Tank's personality. (On the other hand, I have 1980s tech card that would sound awful but very robo-retro.)

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  2. Attitude is everything by blastard · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think the point here is that the computer does not have the Stepford Wife annoyingly pleasant attitude that the usual computer assistants have.

    Back in the early '80s my fellow students and I wrote computer based quizzing software for our classes. We played around with different responses to wrong answers. Contrary to what educational software companies were putting out, our programs would occasionally razz you for a wrong answer. Care to guess which ones the students used more often?

    There is only so much a person can take of a caring and supportive computer before it gets really annoying.

    BTW, I also wrote a rudimentary hash algorithm to weed out obscene names, without having to code those very names into the program. And yes, it could be defeated by inserting 1 or 0 in place of L or I and O.