Hi Everyone,
Let’s get back on track! With the impending end of build season for the FIRST Robotics Competition, which we are a part of, it must be hard for many of us to relax and remember that we just passed Valentine’s Day 2013. But in light of this recent holiday, let us have fun and relax with… the Cuddlebot.
Cuddlebot was created by a Canadian artist and computer scientist named Anna Flagg. The goal of the robot was to try to take a step towards robots who could recognize and empathize with human emotions, and this robot does it well, reacting to nine different kinds of touch. Over time, the robot can even recognize who is touching it, taking a new step towards adaptable robotic pets.
This robot might look just like a blob of fur, but the concept behind it is pretty sharp. By using conductive fur, the robot can sense very subtle motions, like blowing with breath, and distinguish between similar motions. I won’t go into most of the technical details but for those of you more technically inclined you can check out Flagg’s thesis here.
Currently the Cuddlebot is being explored therapeutically, and has already been shown to get along with children. In addition, the concept of low-cost touch sensing in the context of empathy and emotion could potentially be useful in the future as a tool. Ever been annoyed when your cellphone notified you about a text message when you were in a stressful moment? This could be eliminated by using touch sensing to recognize stress and thus regulate when text messages arrive. This is only a tiny peek into the world of touch sensing and its futuristic applications.
So Happy Valentine’s Day! For those of you without a date, call it Singles’ Awareness Day and cuddle up with the Cuddlebot!
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