Flobi robot head realistic enough to convey emotions, not realistic enough to give children nightmares (hopefully)
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted August 16th 2010 6:16PM
posted August 16th 2010 6:16PM
We've seen our fair share of robots meant to convey emotions, and they somehow never fail to creep us out on some level. At least Flobi, the handiwork of engineers at Bielefeld University in Germany, eschews "realism" for cartoon cuteness. But don't let it fool you, this is a complicated device: about the size of a human head, it features a number of actuators, microscopes, gyroscopes, and cameras, and has the ability to exhibit a wide range of facial expressions by moving its eyes, eyebrows and mouth. The thing can even blush via its cheek-mounted LEDs, and it can either take on the appearance of a male or female with swappable hair and facial features. And the cartoonish quality of the visage is deliberate. According to a paper submitted by the group to the ICRA 2010 conference, the head is "far enough from realistic not to trigger unwanted reactions, but close enough that we can take advantage of familiarity with human faces." Works for us! Video after the break.
[Thanks, Simon]
[Thanks, Simon]
wow thats a scary pic
@Nanosman1994
I'm not a child and that gives ME nightmares.
Yeah, sorry, mission not accomplished, guys; I'm pretty creeped out.
looks like a Mii
Hmm.. the demonstration time for anger was the longest; this can't be good.
Looks like Frank Sidebottom's love child.
http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/frank-sidebottom.jpg
@helloiamgary
Screw you, I came in here to say that...
@WillyVWade I'm just glad someone else saw it too. There's somethings you can't unsee.
"not realistic enough to *not* give children nightmares"
@NCase
Better yet, "unrealistic enough to give children nightmares"
But this is Engadget, I've come to expect 4th grade grammar from their "articles".
@rchives
Touche. My mistake on the double negative.
I just lost 2 hours of sleep from looking at that pic.
@VetteDude Don't worry, i've got them, but i'm afraid i'm going to keep them.
All I was thinking was "Oh dam, Astroboy!"
Statement: I'm afraid I'll be the one delivering nightmares tonight.
Note to the video editor— music should relate to what is being shown; it's a expressive robotic cartoon face you're presenting here.
By the music one would think it was a Porsche, motorcycle or a fast paced video game!
@yrag Another note to the video editor: if you must include the part about changing the mask and gender, which only distracts from your main message, then put it at the end, why don'tcha?
@yrag - This is why I listen to most of these videos that Engadget links to on mute.
OMG creepy !!!!
That was pretty cool. Still a bit too freaky. I prefer to have robots with scifi looking faces like C-3PO or something.
Is she related to her hair-cutting cousin, Flowbee?
Yeah, yeah, we already know how a Mr. Potato Head works.
It doesn't mater how cartoony you make it. A disembodied animated head is creepy. Even if it is a character that never had a body like Jambi, it would still be creepy.
looks like katy perry
The race is on, Germany, Japan, who will win the race to create the sex-bot we all desire?
yep, still creepy.
Looks like Michael Jackson's concept of perfection.
Will it blend? Let's see.
Stay away from my son you ROBOT. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
It looks a lot like a continuation of the Philips iCat project:
http://www.research.philips.com/technologies/projects/robotics/index.html
Can someone PLEASE tell me why creating robots with human-like facial expressions is important? Most HUMAN facial expressions give me the creeps. Who needs robots doing the same thing? Robots should perform a function, not look like a human. And if someone wants to get all psychological with me and talk about humans bonding easier with robots that express human-like expressions, please don't bother. If, for instance, robots take over the role of teachers or nurses, why do they have to look human? And in how many instances would we want robots to take over all these roles? You think unemployment is bad NOW, just wait! I actually blame unemployment on the fact that we have doubled the population of the Earth in half a century. There simply aren't enough excuses to pay people any more. That's why I'm pushing papers around and editing Excel documents. FML.