Kansei, Japan's emotional android
By Peter Rojas 
posted Sep 2nd 2005 3:25PM
posted Sep 2nd 2005 3:25PM
Dude, we're not in the Uncanny Valley any more;
researchers at Japan's Robot and Science Institute are taking us for a stroll through the freaking Leatherface Valley
with Kansei, a creepy new robot with a vocabulary of over 430,000 words that's designed to react emotionally to
whatever it's discussing. If you've been waiting for a robot that can turn that frown upside down this is it —
researchers have taught Kansei how to smile when it's happy and frown when it's sad by using word association software
to build an artificial intelligence program that allows the bot to make judgements about whether it likes something or
not.
[Via Mike's List]
Gawd that thing looks creepy!! Can't look at it for more than 5 seconds without cringing.
That "skin" is more distracting than metal and wires would be.
I, for one, can't wait for our leatherface robot overlords.
Last week these Japanese men broke in to my flat restrained me and took a mold of my face, I wondered what they were going to do with, and now I know.
all of your face are belong to us
ok, computer
I DID NOT MURDER HIM!!!!
they dont need faces! just give em a tft screen or one of them facy flexible majiggers, makes em more efficient at presenting data. facial expressions can be confusing while a smiley or message is very clear. and DEFINATELY less creepy.
All that AI is wonderful but what i want is something that can make cold, logical, mathematical-based decisions for me at the press of a button so i dont have to stand there and wonder which product i want.
i dont want a robo-friend, i just want something to make my life a little less complicated.
AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
All right... they seriously need a sculptor to go in there and make a proper face for that thing...
This picture is disturbing.
Damn, all the stupid catch phrases have been used already.
oh oh. I got one. In Soviet Russia, robots wear YOU!
where is sarah connor?
Nice, now robots don't need any weapon to exterminate humans. Just by looking at him I want to shoot myself!
wow, that is honestly one of the creepiest looking things i've ever seen. shit.
I'd like to think if Edgar Allen Poe were alive today, he'd make something like that. Oh, damn. I'm gonna have some serious nightmares from that thing.
hmm, i think creatives design team was on loan for this one.
The eyes appear to be upside down
Shiznights! And the discovery.com page has a vid (albeit, low quality)! I think this thing wants to eat my skin...
Didn't RoboCop look like this under his visor?
I didn't see the vid on discovery.com.... Where is the vid?
Also.. "Now that I am dying I now know what it means to be alive, and to love...... *dies*"
Emotional Androids don't kill People: The Government Does.
So Kansai is Japanese for Michael Jackson?
looks human. we are defining humanity. cool. you rock.
So Kansai is Japanese for Michael Jackson?
looks human. we are defining humanity. cool. you rock.
There is a so-called "law" regarding humanoid robotics that states that the more a robot resembles a human, the more creepy and scary that robot would be perceived. So, until robots can mimic humans perfectly, it will be a creepy journey for all of us.
Cooky#25 you'll have to stop it laughing when you drop your pants first
Here's the video link:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/media/roboemote.html
Cooky,
You should try properly inflating your girlfriend first, it makes things go much better ;)
lol, the scary FACE!!
the more I look at it, the more creepy it is
Hello, nice to meet you. I can display a full array of human emotions. My name is KaWHERE IS SARAH CONNOR?
man, i think i found my next stunt double
LOL ShaolinTrooper
He's GUMBY dammit!
Doctor Who called, he needs his special effects back.
Where is Sarah Connor?
Lurk more.
emotion android, that things a freak
if i woke up and saw that thing grinning at me i'd probably piss my pants
That picture reminds me of those kids from Pink Floyd's The Wall.
That picture reminds me of those kids from Pink Floyd's The Wall.
who the heck opens their mouth like that when they're frowning? This is research money gone down the pooper
dat ting noos more vocatbeulary den i do. hail o mity one.
oh my god, it's so creepy
it would be very hard to make an artificial face that looks "normal" when expressing itself, as well as in standby. You would need a flexible surface, and many actuators (muscles) that stretch and contract certain parts... so they would have to have a substance with similar charictaristics as skin, and one sctuator for every muscle, that has the proper range of movement. Then the "skin" must be anchored at certain points to imitate actuality. Then finally they would need some apparent bone structure (ie. cheekbones) that becomes more or less apparent as the face moves. I guess for bonus marks they can be sure to give the nose and ears a cartalidge consistancy, but have the openings of the nose covered with normal skin, and have a realistic tongue, uvula (for layman, the dangly thing), teeth and hair.
In conclusion, for now I think they are spending more effort on the AI and physical abilities (ie strength and range of movement) of the robot. So I'm not terrible suprised that the face is less than accurate. It would take a lot of artisitic effort to make if believable.
I thought it was Mazda who incorporated Kansei Engineering in their design.
It's actually a lot better looking than some of my neighbours.
Looks like to one out of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre., I'm surprised actually that after 46 comments someone had not mentioned this.
I am the only one who thought the advertisement for Iams that came on before the video was actually more entertaining than the actual video? Cat walk, why didn't I think of that.
Fishes,
narco.
Well go figure that thing is from japan. they were probably designing the face after the deformed victims that the hiroshima bomb made. hahahah!
Or maybe they were designing it after how a japanese women's face would look if they bound her head too.