Monday, July 21, 2008

Robots of the Future Will Show Empathy, Be Good Listeners


European researchers are developing a software that will give robots
the power to learn when a person is sad, happy or angry. The Feelix Growing
project is putting together simple robots that can detect different
parameters—facial expressions, voice and proximity—to
determine emotional states. The aim of the project is to develop a
robot that can serve humans with special needs, such as the ill and the
elderly. Using adaptable neural networks, the robot can learn the
correct way to respond to people's emotions from experience.

For instance, if someone shows fear, the robot can learn to change
its behavior to appear less threatening. If someone seems happy, the
robot can make a mental (or, I guess, digital) note of what brought on
that response.

Article Link (Gizmodo)

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