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 children’s anxieties before an operation. Probo’s 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 a touchscreen on its stomach which is intended to . . .