When senior living robots become trusted confidants
McKnight’s Senior Living April 19, 2024
Imagine a resident walking up to a robot with a human-like head and receiving a quick smile in return. It’s a scenario that soon might become commonplace across senior living settings, thanks to groundbreaking research from Columbia University.
In a new study appearing in Science Robotics, the lab introduced Emo, a robot that can both anticipate and mimic facial expressions in real-time. Emo can predict a forthcoming smile about 840 milliseconds before a resident actually smiles, and then it mirrors the resident’s expression simultaneously. It’s like having a companion who truly understands their emotions.
The team, led by Hod Lipson, PhD, faced significant hurdles in creating Emo. They had to develop a mechanically versatile robotic face, equipped with 26 actuators...