Robots capable of “expressing” human emotion are nothing new, and, more unfortunately, they appear here to stay. Yeah, sure, there have been some objectively impressive improvements in recent years, but it’s still going to be a long time before they finally cross the vast uncanny valley that results in their smiles reminding everyone of a serial killer’s more often than that of our new android BFF. And yet here we are, staring into the black wells that are Nikola the expressive child-bot’s eyes, wondering how in the hell the field of robotics managed to take so many steps into darkness while we weren’t looking.
Allegedly, the Japanese research institute-backed proof of concept from the Guardian Robot Project showcases some promising advances in the areas of individual human recognition and real-time emotional reactions to external situations. But it still looks more like a bald, disembodied robot-child’s head scanning the room for its next “flesh host” than a future tool for — and we wish were kidding here — elder care. Gaze into Nikola’s windows of nothingness below, courtesy of CNET:
