Updated: IST
If you thought only living beings could bring emotions on their face, think again. According to a report in The New Scientist, a new robot, which according to its creators can express a full repertoire of human facial expressions, was unveiled on Sunday.
K-bot, as the robot is called, has a feminine face and is capable of 28 facial movements, including smiling, sneering, furrowing her brow and arching her eyebrows. She also has cameras in her eyes to recognise and respond to humans.
David Hanson of the University of Texas, Dallas, sculpted K-Bot’s face using an electroactive polymer with 24 artificial muscles to provide facial movement. Her predecessor — Andy the android — had just four facial movements.
‘‘This is the face for human robotics,’’ Hanson told the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting in Denver.
K-bot’s face is made of a polymer developed by Hanson. It is a combination of an elastomer and a foaming agent, he says, which gives the appearance and flexibility of skin without requiring the complexity of human tissue. The robot weighs 2 kg and costs $400 to make. He suggests K-bot could be a useful tool for scientists researching artificial intelligence.
