The Emo robot can guess when you are going to smile or have any other facial expression to do it before you do. An already impressive technology, but its designers want to go even further.
The dazzling development of artificial intelligence is opening up new perspectives in all sectors, from health to automobiles to video games. The CEO of Nvidia even thinks that AI will surpass humans in any field within 5 years.
Although some welcome the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence, others are seriously concerned. If you are one of the latter, this new robot Being able to predict when you’re going to smile shouldn’t really reassure you.
Emo, the robot that guesses that you are going to smile and does it before you
Engineers from Columbia University have just finalized the development of Emo, a robot capable to anticipate facial expressions to execute them before the human.
The laboratory needed five years to develop the artificial intelligence project led by Hod Lipson. Under its silicone skin, Emo is equipped with 26 actuators allowing it to reproduce a large number of facial expressions.
“ The team developed two AI models: one that predicts human facial expressions by analyzing subtle changes in the target face and another that generates motor commands using corresponding facial expressions “, precise Columbia University.
After learning expressions in front of a mirror, Emo was placed in front of videos of humans to observe the changes in their faces when they start to smile. This is how Emo can predict a future smile approximately 840 milliseconds before it is truly displayed on a face. An almost imperceptible timing which gives the impression that the robot is acting at the same time.
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“ When a robot makes simultaneous expressions with people in real time, it not only improves the quality of interaction, but also helps build trust between humans and robots », Estimates Hod Lipson.
Next step for researchers: integrate verbal communication into Emo using a language model similar to that of ChatGPT. Hod Lipson thinks that the robot could be used in the educational field in particular, but he remains aware that its use could give rise to abuses.
- Researchers have just developed Emo, a robot that can predict when you will smile
- Thanks to AI, it can guess the facial expressions of a human and realize them before them
- Developers want to integrate a language model similar to that of ChatGPT