This robot that knows when you're going to smile and does it before you do is scary

The Emo bot can guess when you are going to smile or have any other facial expression before you do. It's already impressive technology, but its designers want to go further.

The amazing development of artificial intelligence is opening new horizons in all sectors, from health to cars to video games. Nvidia's CEO believes that artificial intelligence will outperform humans in any field within 5 years.

Although some welcome the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence, others are deeply concerned. If you're one of those, here's the new robot Being able to predict when you will smile shouldn't really reassure you.

Imo, the robot that guesses that you will smile and does it in front of you

Engineers from Columbia University have just finished developing Emo, a robot that can move To predict facial expressions to perform in front of a human.

It took the lab five years to develop the artificial intelligence project led by Hood Lipson. Under his silicone skin, Emo is equipped with 26 actuators allowing him to reproduce a large number of facial expressions.

” The team developed two AI models: one that predicts human facial expressions by analyzing subtle changes in the target face and the other that generates motor commands using the corresponding facial expressions. “, specific Columbia University.

After learning to make expressions in front of a mirror, Emo was placed in front of videos of humans to observe changes in their faces when they started to smile. This is how he can imo Predict future smile in approximately 840 milliseconds Before it's really shown to the face. The timing is almost imperceptible giving the impression that the robot is acting at the same time.

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“ When a robot makes synchronized expressions with people in real time, it not only improves the quality of interaction but also helps build trust between humans and robots. », Hood-Libson estimates.

Next step for researchers: Integrating verbal communication into Emo using a language model similar to ChatGPT. Hood-Libson believes the robot could be used in the educational field in particular, but remains aware that its use could lead to abuse.