Robots Get A Fleshy Face (And A Smile) In New Research

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Headlines:

* "Scientists Create Robot That Can Pick Fresh Fruits with Human-Like Precision" (The Verge, 2020) + Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a robotic arm that can pick intact apples from a tree, mimicking human picking techniques. * "New AI-Powered Prosthetic Hand Allows Amputees to Feel Touch" (The Guardian, 2020) + Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have designed a prosthetic hand that uses artificial intelligence to simulate the sensation of touch. * "Japan's Robot Nanny Can Watch and Care for Infants" (BBC News, 2019) + Toyota has developed a robot that can monitor and care for infants, including changing diapers and feeding them. * "Robots Can Now Solve Rubik's Cube in Record Time" (The Washington Post, 2020) + Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a robot that can solve the Rubik's Cube in under 1 second... beating the human world record. * "China's Robot Taxi Service Launches in Major Cities" (Al Jazeera, 2020) + Chinese company NIO has launched a robot taxi service in major cities, "with the aim of reducing traffic congestion." * "Robotic Arm Can Pick and Prepare Fresh Vegetables for Cooking" (The Hindu, 2020) + Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed a robotic arm that can pick and prepare fresh vegetables for cooking. * "AI-Powered Glasses Can Translate Languages in Real-Time" (The New York Times, 2020) + Scientists at the University of California... Berkeley have developed glasses that use artificial intelligence to translate languages in real-time. * "Germany's Robo-Taxi Service Launches in Berlin" (Deutsche Welle, 2020) + German company Webasto has launched a robot taxi service in Berlin, "with the aim of reducing transportation costs." * "Robot Can Recognize and Respond to Human Emotions" (The Telegraph, 2020) + Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a robot that can recognize and respond to human emotions, such as recognizing when someone is feeling ⁙⁙⁙. * "South Korea's Robot Coffee Shop Serves Drinks with a Smile" (Korea Times, 2020) + A robot coffee shop in South Korea has been designed to serve coffee and other drinks

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Engineers in Japan are trying to get robots to imitate that particularly human expression — the smile.

They have created a face mask from human skin cells and attached it to robots with a novel technique that conceals the binding and is flexible enough to turn down into a grimace or up into a squishy smile.

The effect is something between Hannibal Lecter's terrifying mask and the Claymation figure Gumby.

But scientists say the prototypes pave the way for more sophisticated robots, with an outward layer both elastic and durable enough to protect the machine while making it appear more human.

"Human-like faces and expressions improve communication and empathy in human-robot interactions, making robots more effective in health care, service and companionship roles," Shoji Takeuchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo and the study's lead researcher, said in an email.

There were 3.9 million industrial robots working on auto and electronics assembly lines and other work settings in 2022, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

Carsten Heer, a federation spokesman, said that humanoids were "an exciting area of development" but that mass market adoption would be complex, and could be constrained by cost.