Japanese researchers said on Saturday they have developed a humanoid robot that can laugh and smile as it mimics a person's facial expressions. The robot, Geminoid TMF, can move its rubber facial skin to imitate a smile, a laugh showing teeth, and a grim look with furrowed brows, by receiving electric signals from the person it is modelled on.
The robot smiled and furrowed its brow in almost simultaneous mimicry of the woman, whose face was filmed with a video camera, which then provided information on her expressions to the robot through electric signals.
The developers said they expected the robot to be eventually used in real-life situations, for example in hospitals.
"A new technology always creates some fears and negative opinions," but the researchers wanted to make robots that could express something similar to human emotions, said Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University who led the research.
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