Meet your newest friend, nurse and carer: a robot who reads your moods and emotions
A social robot equipped with personality, a humanoid face and a good memory could soon be, say, a coach for your autistic son, a minder for your diabetic daughter, a carer for your dad with dementia or a companion for your elderly aunt who lives alone
At Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, a new receptionist on campus has been turning heads. Nadine, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair, is always ready with a friendly smile and handshake. She looks you in the eye when talking, and the next time you meet her, she’s sure to remember you and your previous chat with her.
Her appearance might fool you but Nadine is actually a robot – the world’s most human-like one – and a doppelganger of her creator, Professor Nadia Thalmann, director of the university’s Institute for Media Innovation.
Thalmann says social robots like Nadine – equipped with personality, moods, emotions and a good memory – could become personal coaches or companions, especially for people with special health or medical needs.
“As countries worldwide face challenges of an ageing population, social robots can be one solution to address the shrinking workforce, become personal companions for children and the elderly at home, and even serve as a platform for health care services in the future,” says Thalmann, who has pioneered research into virtual humans over the past 30 years.
“For autistic children, for example, we can control the emotional degrees of the robot to make it attractive and adapted to children with special needs. For the elderly with dementia, social robots can help them maintain social skills and to feel less alone.”
Nadine is powered by intelligent software similar to Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana. Unlike conventional robots, social robots can adapt to each individual, recognise particular actions and features of a specific person, and react appropriately, Thalmann explains.