Robots With More Lifelike Expressions To Jump The 'Uncanny Valley'

When robots start resembling humans but not too a very realistic extent, it leaves the humans extremely rattled (The 'Uncanny Principle'). This has been a longstanding issue for researchers working on realistic humanoid robots. Nevertheless, research also demonstrates that the uncanny valley impact could be somewhat reduced by making the robot more appealing and lifelike. To achieve this, Italian researchers have formulated FACE, a realistic humanoid effigy designed to accurately imitate the several facial expressions our facial muscles can do.

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FACE derives its power from  the Hybrid Engine for Facial Expressions Synthesis (HEFES), which directs the 32 motors placed below FACE’s polymer skin to operate it in the same way as human facial muscles. What HEFES does is- it creates facial expressions and also enables transition among those expressions, rendering more life-like features to FACE. This means the user can select any facial expression he desires, and also enjoy the space between two emotions.

Do check the video below: