Uncanny Valley! Watch as a creepy humanoid robot mimics a researcher's facial ... trends now
If we want to live in a world where we interact with robots, they'll have to be able to read and respond to our facial expressions in lightning-fast time.
Now, scientists have come a step closer to creating such an advanced machine.
'Emo', built by experts at Columbia University in New York, is the fastest humanoid in the world when it comes to mimicking a person's expressions.
In fact, it can 'predict' a person's smile by looking for subtle signs in their facial muscles and imitate them so that they're effectively smiling at the same time.
Amazing video shows the bot copying a researcher's facial expressions in real time with eerie precision and remarkable speed, thanks to cameras in its eyes.
Columbia engineers build Emo, a silicon-clad robotic face that makes eye contact and can anticipate and replicate a person’s smile at effectively the same time
Emo is the creation of researchers at Columbia University's Creative Machines Lab in New York, who present their work in a new study in Scientific Reports.
'We believe that robots must learn to anticipate and mimic human expressions as a first step before maturing to more spontaneous and self-driven expressive communication,' they say.
Most robots being developed around the world right now – such as the British bot Ameca – are being trained to mimic a person's face.
But Emo has the added advantage of 'predicting' when someone will smile so she can smile at approximately the same time.
This creates a 'more genuine', human-like interaction between the two.
The researchers are working towards a future where humans and robots can have conversations and even connections, like Bender and Fry on 'Futurama'.
'Imagine a world where interacting with a robot feels as natural and comfortable as talking to a friend,' said Hod Lipson, director of the Creative Machines Lab.
Researchers think the nonverbal communication skills of robots have been overlooked. Emo is pictured here with Yuhang Hu of Creative Machines Lab
The researchers are working towards a future where humans and robots can have conversations and even connections, like Bender and Fry on 'Futurama' (pictured)
'By advancing robots that can interpret and mimic human expressions accurately, we're moving closer to a future where robots can
