Emotional robot has empathy, understands your frustration

Not that robots with emotions are anything new, but a project going on in Europe could perfect the art of crafting mechanical people that can "learn when a person is sad, happy or angry." The Feelix Growing project is getting even more advanced with software that gives robots the power to understand how a person is feeling based on feedback from cameras and sensors. The bots look at a human's facial expression and key in on their voice and proximity to determine what kind of mood they're in. As with the recently announced UMass Mobile Manipulator, this creature too learns from experience, and there's a video explaining just what we mean waiting for you in the read link.

[Via Physorg]

[Deedubbadoo @ Jul 18th 2008 8:26AM]

Empathy huh? Can it empathize with the uneasy feeling I get from its creepy eyes?

[soul7963 @ Jul 18th 2008 9:56AM]

If for one, welcome our new robot........ oh, you want to give me a hug!?

[Will H. @ Jul 18th 2008 9:58AM]

I, for one, welcome our empathetic overlords.

[Josh @ Jul 18th 2008 11:12AM]

A few months back, the LIREC (Living with Robots and Interactive Companions), a European Union project announced their advances on that subject in this article: http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=526&doc_id=155718 .

They had developed emotional bonding and personality transference on robots.

[max.karpiak @ Jul 18th 2008 8:28AM]

It can tell when I'm happy, sad, or angry, but can it tell when I'm horribly creeped-out? God, what an awful, awful photo.

[Blackstar @ Jul 18th 2008 10:30AM]

Yeah, "Wall-E" this thing is not. O.o

[Danakin @ Jul 18th 2008 8:31AM]

yeah, its cool to try to develop this stuff,but seriously, we need to put this money towards feeding thing hungry, or housing the homeless...WTF!

[Danakin @ Jul 18th 2008 8:36AM]

what an odd typo...

**feeding the hungry

[Grey @ Jul 18th 2008 9:10AM]

Or - we could slaughter the homeless and burn their bodies to help power the labs where we develop the future - like a turbocharger for evolution and science!

*evil genius laugh*

[Luke @ Jul 19th 2008 3:36AM]

A turbocharger for evolution and science would take a lot more planning than you would think. Before that's possible we would need to focus on replacing the stock internals...

[striggity @ Jul 18th 2008 11:40AM]

and we low ranked this guy, why?

[Paul Dullford @ Jul 18th 2008 8:37AM]

This is not empathy. It's the veneer of empathy. And that can be more dangerous than empathy per se.

[frozo @ Jul 18th 2008 8:49AM]

..or more dangerous than the LACK of empathy!

[SirCrumpet @ Jul 18th 2008 8:38AM]

But alas, for it can never steal the unconditional love that I hold for Keepon...

Though good to see they reference you guys there, and they seem to have come some way from http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/02/happybot.jpg :D

[Jonathan Keim @ Jul 18th 2008 8:40AM]

It would probably be pretty easy to have a robot feel sorry for you...

[Rob @ Jul 18th 2008 8:41AM]

Is this a picture from one of the "Wallace and Grummit" characters?

[meinnit @ Jul 18th 2008 9:17AM]

...or even the "Wallace and Gromit" characters. ;-)

[XcRuNk @ Jul 18th 2008 8:43AM]

Oh this would be so sweet for my friend...

He's always looking for a pity party when his old lady gets on his case.

[eric f. @ Jul 18th 2008 8:44AM]

You're gonna need some therapy after you wake up in the middle of the night with this thing standing over you.

[M.Samba @ Jul 18th 2008 8:55AM]

As long as it doesn't care enough about me to put me "out of my misery"

[Steven @ Jul 18th 2008 9:18AM]

With all the technological advancements in robotics, I find it strange how they always fail at making the robot a little less creepy. I would never want this thing staring me dead in the eye.

[Danakin @ Jul 18th 2008 9:24AM]

OMG, it looks like Franklin...*sings* "for British eyes only" & "Mr F"

[phanbouy @ Jul 18th 2008 12:09PM]

dude... he sang "it ain't easy being white" and i think that's about it!

[Danakin @ Jul 18th 2008 12:18PM]

well, he did after he got washed... rofl

[Grey @ Jul 18th 2008 9:24AM]

Well I, for one, welcome our emotional robot overlords.

[Kizorblade @ Jul 18th 2008 10:10AM]

At least they'll let us cry while we slave away.

[Steven @ Jul 18th 2008 10:17AM]

Please let the meme die...

[John B @ Jul 18th 2008 10:40AM]

Better yet, let the people who refuse to stop using the meme die.

[NHAnimator @ Jul 18th 2008 9:34AM]

Pretty simply algorithms involved here. If its accelerometers can detect it flying through the air, then coming to a sudden stop against the wall, then it will determine that I'm angry.

Or is that happy?

Guess it's back to the drawing board (or CAD station). Either way, Geppetto is rolling in his grave.

[Dirk @ Jul 18th 2008 9:44AM]

What good is making a robot that can feel sorry for you if doesn't give you sympathy sex? I won't be ditching my doll for Johnny 5 any time soon.

[Kaiser-Machead @ Jul 18th 2008 10:17AM]

No programmer on earth could make it feel the white hot terror that takes me over in its company.

[dylan @ Jul 18th 2008 11:16AM]

Rumour has it that Apple will be buying in a large stock of them ready for the iPhone 3.0 release next year, pre-programmed with suitable phrases:
"I'm sorry you've to queue for 10 hours, please wait another 24 until your phone is activated. I'm sorry, I feel your pain"
"I'm sorry your phone is bricked, I really feel your pain"
"I'm sorry we lied about our new mobile me service and conned you out of $99, I really feel your pain"
etc etc etc

;)

[Anonymous @ Jul 18th 2008 11:57AM]

I think I prefer this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7IxliAPjAk

[Carrie @ Jul 18th 2008 2:06PM]

Forget Uncanny Valley, this thing goes down below that into the realm of Dear God What's Wrong With Its Eyes!?

*shudder*

[Captain Planet @ Jul 18th 2008 5:13PM]

It looks creepy because it has no eyelids.

[c.Lake @ Jul 18th 2008 5:57PM]

Dude, that thing is going to leap-up and kill me.

[BradS @ Jul 21st 2008 3:06PM]

This is what happened to the Cabbage Patch dolls, they grew older and creepier.