A Robot That Knows What You Are Going to do Next

RobotNext is always looking for that story that shows where the cutting edge of robotics is going next.  This is truly one of those stories.  A robot that can act on a person’s intentions would be capable of intelligent-like behavior in their relationship with a human.  In a sense, this is the ultimate model from nature for robots—a human.

The idea is to model human-human interactions in order to allow a robot to become more capable of developing a personal relationship with its human partner.  For many applications of consumer robotics, it will be necessary for the robot to be more than just a programmed machine.

Check out the article at the link below.

(PhysOrg.com) — European researchers in robotics, psychology and cognitive sciences have developed a robot that can predict the intentions of its human partner. This ability to anticipate (or question) actions could make human-robot interactions …

Predictive powers: a robot that reads your intention? (w/Video) – PhysOrg
Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:57:00 GMT

Making Robots More Like Humans

Researchers are working to develop robots that are capable of more human-like behavior.  In this report by Dan Simmons of the BBC, he explores what scientists are doing to give robots more human-like abilities.  This is a follow-up to the post from yesterday on robots that show human emotions.

Some robots have been developed from models in nature.  Some of those robots actually perform functions in a way that are superior to what humans can do.  For example, robots can accomplish repetitive tasks with precision and without tiring.  Robots can go places that humans cannot easily go or maybe not reach at all.

Now the challenge is to make robots that can interact with humans in a way that puts the humans at ease and allows a more personal interaction.  See the article below for the report on how this is being done right now.

Simple tasks such as walking and picking up objects are part of everyday life for people, but such mundane tasks still present major challenges for today's robots.

Researchers are using sensors, cameras and recognition to teach the machines to interact in a way that people will be comfortable with.

Man machine (BBC News)
Sun, 24 May 2009 16:27:49 GMT

This Robot Shows Emotions With Body Language

So, we have robots that imitate snakes, beavers, cockroaches, and ants.  Why not humans too?  This robot can simulate human emotions with movements and poses.  See the example below and click to see the picture from the Robot Watch website.  There are other photos of this robot doing its thing on the site. 

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Credit:  Robot Watch

Robots that can show emotions would be more likely to have successful interactions with humans and this is a step towards a more personal service robot.  One thing about this robot:  It does look like it got into its mother’s cosmetics drawer.  Those red lips look like my two-year old niece’s after she did her make-up for the first time.

Check out the article below at Topix and also look at the video posted on robots.net.

Robots have been made capable of doing almost anything humans can do except expressing emotions.

Humanoid robot overcomes emotional hurdle
Sat, 23 May 2009 20:02:20 GMT

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