Social robots

Social robots
http;//www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203101153.html
Social robots are now being designed to more closely resemble humans
to help children with autism learn social behavior and to help stroke
patients with their physical rehabilitation exercises. The biggest
challenge is to get the robots to match the needs and expectations of
the human mind. Recently three pioneers had a roundtable discussion
to discuss social robots. Professor Maja Mataric, the director of USC's
Center of Robotics and Embedded Systems, discussed the importance
of the robot's facial expressions and body language and designing the
right personality for the user. Ayse Saygin of the Kavli Institute of
Brain and Mind and professor at the University of California San Diego
stressed that making the robots more humanlike in appearance didn't
work well unless it was equally equipped with humanlike behavior.
If the robots didn't behave like a person, humans noticed the
mismatch and didn't respond as well. Making them less humanlike
might actually work better if the robot's mannerisms and facial expressions
aren't close enough. Andrea Thomaz, professor at Georgia Institute of
Technology and director if its Social Intelligent Machines Laboratory,
stressed the importance of building robots designed to learn from humans
the same way a person would. Their lab has actually built this social
intelligence into their robots. The robots learn from other people's speech,
through observations, demonstrations, and from social interaction.
The entire discussion can be read at: http://www.kavlifoundation.org/
science-spotlights/ucsd-recipe-social-robot
It's amazing how far robotics has advanced and that people will be able
to actually have a robot to match their personality and that has facial
expressions and humanlike body language. This can be a huge
advantage for therapy for stroke victims and to help autistic people to
learn social cues and interactions. But it's kind of creepy because it
reminds me of the movies where the robots can think on their own and
then want to take over the world like Al.