In many ways, science fiction has been represented in the cinematic industry for years. Staples from "Ex Machina" to "I, Robot" presented various interpretations that affect how we perceive humanoids powered by artificial intelligence.
Lifelike robots in the real world are slowly gaining popularity as years progress. The latest humanoid created could hold one of the best humanlike features yet.
Meet Nikola: New Near-Human Machine by RIKEN Guardian Robot Project
The Engineered Arts Ameca humanoid robot with artificial intelligence is demonstrated during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 5, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Japan's RIKEN Guardian Robot Project experts created a new robot child known as Nikola. The humanoid can perform six basic emotions.
The android's face was equipped with a technology that serves as a "moving muscle," allowing it to switch facial expressions between fear, happiness, surprise, disgust, anger, and sadness.
Nikola's face has a total of 29 pneumatic actuators responsible for the control of artificial muscles. Six more actuators were added to simulate the realistic movements for the humanoid's eyeballs and entire head.
Air pressure runs the machine's actuators and gives a "silent and smooth" movement, according to the developers.
Despite lacking a body, the developers believe that Nikola's head will serve various functions in upcoming studies.
In a DailyMail report, RIKEN team leader Wataru Sato said that androids exhibiting emotional communication to humans might serve a better purpose for the vast situations we have in real life, like adult care and well-being promotion.
Facial Expressions from Nikola Recognizable as Human-Like
The team used the Facial Actions Coding System (FACS) program to relay subtle movement sequences on Nikola. The coding system controls the robot's facial reactions, from lip-puckering to raising cheeks, making the set of emotions more realistic.
Nikola's facial expression was tested through the help of human cohorts, who were each required to assess the robot's performance. Each of the participants successfully recognized the six emotions that Nikola presented.
RIKEN developers said that Nikola's silicone face is less elastic than natural human skin and does not perfectly mimic wrinkles. Disgust and other complex emotions were harder for the participants to identify due to the absence of the nose wrinkling actuator, they added.
During the observations, the team also found that the varying speed of emotions impacts how realistic they could get. For example, expressing sadness was naturally slower compared to being surprised.
Due to the collective data from Nikola's near-human facial expressions, the RIKEN team expects the robot to give further assistance to the advancing research in neuroscience and psychology.
Sato said that instead of human subjects, androids could express controlled behaviors and undergo a complex scientific investigation for human social interactions.
Once it gets its own body, the RIKEN robot will cater to a wide range of real-world applications in many types of industries.
The Guardian Robot Project, according to Sato, aims to build an autonomous android that can function to assist humans, especially those who are physically challenged and other groups that can not sustain living alone.
The RIKEN team has not released the total expenditure in developing Nikola.
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