Scientists Add Emotions To Robotic Head

DeviceGuru writes "Claiming that service-class robots will one day be pervasive, researchers at the University of the West of England's Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) have begun investigating ways to make robots seem more human. As part of a project to enhance robot/human relationships, BRL has created a robotic head that can exhibit emotions, based on both verbal and non-verbal cues. Check out the videos in the article — especially the slightly creepy one in which the robot contemplates its purpose and its relationship to its environment."

Comments

However, the only emotions are hate and anger

[Anonymous Coward]

I personally think it was a bad idea.

Re:However, the only emotions are hate and anger

[Anonymous Coward]

Here here, I totally agree. This is the sort of work that sets robotics back, not moves it back. People have to concentrate on real mechanical and sensor challenges, not this sort of head line grabbing junk.

Re:However, the only emotions are hate and anger

[Frozentech]

Oh come on. The major market is going to be for anthropomorphic anatomically correct robots. Most will want that Stepford Wife to exhibit certain faux emotion, now won't they ?

Re:However, the only emotions are hate and anger

[AnarkiNet]

Those are called plugins.

Re:However, the only emotions are hate and anger

[lysergic.acid]

while this might not be useful for lawnmowers, it might be useful for robotic pets, caretakers, help desk workers, etc. who will be engaging in social interaction with people.

one interesting application for robotics that's already in trials in some places (in Germany, i think) is using robotic animals to provide environmental enrichment for convalescent patients. for instance, they might give an elderly patient a robotic seal pup to talk to, interact with, and take care of. for such robots, emotional expressiveness is extremely vital.

Re:However, the only emotions are hate and anger

[lysergic.acid]

probably not, but i think robots are more low maintenance. they won't pee everywhere, tear up furniture, or make a mess. they also won't starve or begin to stink if the patient forgets to take care of them.

i mean, even dogs still have some level of autonomy and needs of their own. a robotic pet won't mind being held in the lap of a patient and being petted for hours. it can also be turned off when the patient goes to sleep.

you could even give every patient in a convalescent home their own robotic pet to keep in their room. but doing that with real animals would be a logistical nightmare for the staff. instead of taking care of 100 patients they now have to take care of 100 patients and 100 animals.

Re:However, the only emotions are hate and anger

[KDR_11k]

It's useful for human-machine interaction. When you want to use a robot where it interacts with people it should probably seem more alive to the humans. Somebody's gotta invent it and there are enough companies working on different applications for robotics that the sensor and mechanical challenges get handled by someone else.

Robotic head

[djupedal]

If you insist...but I'm not going to admit I like it.

Re:Robotic head

[tomhudson]

http://www.realdoll.com/cgi-bin/snav.rd?action=viewpage&section=dollgallery

Take your pick ...

Tagged teddyruxpin

[Culture20]

Because that's all this thing is. 15-20 years, and all we get are a few more servos that act based on voice inflection? Teddy Ruxpin at least was affordable by the masses.

Lexx

[rossdee]

So now the robot head is madly in love with Xev ...

Sorry I can't remember the robots name/number.

Xev of course loves Kai, the (dead) last of the Brunen-Gee

Re:Lexx

[kachakaach]

So now the robot head is madly in love with Xev ...

Sorry I can't remember the robots name/number.

Xev of course loves Kai, the (dead) last of the Brunen-Gee

The robot is 790, and it eventually switches it's affections from Xev to Kai, ....and our new overlords WILL be terminating you for your lack of Robot lore knowledge.

Re:Lexx

[zappepcs]

I didn't even finish the summary headline and this came to mind.

Fortunately "...one rampage won't get noticed... please..." is hardly the damage that 790 was capable of.

I don't think this effort even made it into the 'uncanny valley'

Robots vs CGI vs Puppetry

[BiggerIsBetter]

This might be a naive question, but hasn't the movie industry covered most of these bases already, with CGI facial expression algorithms and puppetry?. What's the new part?

I'm sure that's a very useful feature

[Adrian Lopez]

"'Reverse primary thrust, Marvin,' that's what they say to me, 'open airlock number three, Marvin. Marvin, can you pick up that piece of paper?' Can I pick up that piece of paper! Here I am, brain the size of a planet and they ask me to pick up a piece of paper!"

"But I'm quite used to being humiliated. I can even go and stick my head in a bucket of water if you like. Would you like me to go and stick my head in a bucket of water? I've got one ready. Wait a minute."

"The first ten million years were the worst, and the second ten million, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn't enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline."

Re:yadda,yadda,yadda...Robotic Overlords

[orangesquid]

In Britain, waiting in line is called being in queue. What's a non-verbal queue, then? A line where nobody speaks? Sounds good! When I butt in line, nobody will say anything :)

Oh wait... they'd just punch me. Never mind, then.

Hasn't MIT been working on projects like this for over a decade? I heard that they had a robot that was very convincing of its emotions to others.

talking heads

[seededfury]

The first robot I ever saw talking was this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4dwcxiDTcA
and I think it was more impressive than the one in the article...

Kismet.

[liquidMONKEY]

Imagine how jealous Kismet is going to be programmed to look.

beware the creepiness factor

[Iowan41]

They would be better off making robots look like 'droids' not people; as Wall-e and even Star Wars have shown, you can express emotion-equivalents without entering into the creepiness-zone of not-quite-human that you can get in some computer animation or clowns.

Re:First client

[MichaelSmith]

Not Safe Work For? That you Yoda?

Garbage

[religious freak]

The two quickest ways to tell this is garbage is:

1. The content of the "robot's message" is not something any top notch researcher would do (really, you think most people would think that kind of thing is FUNNY when we get closer to humans in the household? Can you say unreasonable and unproductive government regulation???)
2. It simply sucked. I saw better emotions on Kismet 10+ years ago.

Re:Oh, not again

[KDR_11k]

Awwww, an army of Barney robots would at least make fighting the robot insurrection more fun. Who doesn't want to shove an RPG up Barney's arse?