Robots with emotions being developed
Robots that develop their emotions in a human-like way and become attached to humans are being developed by academics at the University of Hertfordshire.
Dr Lola Cañamero from the University’s School of Computer Science is co-ordinating a project which will develop robots that are capable of growing emotionally.
The FEELIX GROWING (FEEL, Interact, eXpress: a Global approach to development With Interdisciplinary Grounding) project, funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission, aims to develop autonomous robots which will be capable of interacting with humans in everyday environments and will grow emotionally in accordance with the needs of the individuals with which it associates.
The aim is to develop robots that grow up and adapt to humans in everyday environments. If robots are to be truly integrated in humans’ everyday lives as companions or carers, they cannot be just taken off the shelf and put into a real-life setting, they need to adapt to their environment.
Dr Cañamero
Dr Cañamero is collaborating with Cynthia Breazeal at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Hideki Kozima, Communications Research Laboratory, Japan and with six universities and two businesses in various European countries to develop prototypes which are scheduled to be completed in just over three years.
If robots are to live with people, instead of being taught everything, they should develop with their human users so that they can grow with them. For example, if the human bursts into tears, the robot will gradually learn whether it is better to try to comfort them or leave them alone.
Dr Cañamero
In this project, the researchers will also use robots as a tool to study attachment in humans and non-human primates.
The other partners in this project are: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Cergy Pontoise, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, University of Portsmouth, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, Greece, Entertainment Robotics, Denmark and SAS Aldebaran Robotics, France.