News Report | May 25, 2009
Researchers Unveil Prototype for Cuddly Robot That Establishes Emotional Communication With Children
OPEN MINDS Weekly News Wire
Disability Support
On April 21, 2009, Belgian researchers unveiled a prototype of Probo, a cute, furry, green robot designed to ease hospitalized childrens anxieties before an operation. Probos developers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels) and sponsors at the Anty Foundation sought to have the robot establish emotional communication. It can detect faces and make eye contact; it also makes facial expressions ranging from pleasure to disgust intended to show how medical procedures will make the child feel. The robot has . . .