Project description Advanced RoboticsRobots in touch with your emotionsRobots that care for the sick or comfort the elderly are close to becoming a reality, but they are only likely to be accepted by society if they can respond to human emotions.Creating robots that know when a person is sad, happy or angry is the goal of the Feelix Growing project, which is developing software that will allow a new generation of robots to detect and respond to a person’s emotional state. Inspired by the human brainThe Feelix Growing researchers are focusing their work on the development of artificial neural networks – computational systems that mimic the way information is processed in the human brain and which can adapt to changing inputs. In essence, the neural networks allow the robot to learn to interpret emotions and to behave accordingly. Using cameras and sensors, robots built by the researchers from mostly off-the-shelf components can detect different parameters, such as a person’s facial expressions, voice, body movement, temperature and proximity to the robot, to determine their emotional state. The technology draws on research in developmental and comparative psychology, neuroscience, ethology (the science of human behaviour) and robotics. Much like a human child, the robot learns from experience how to respond to emotions displayed by the people around it. Happy people, happy robotIf someone shows fear, for example, the robot may learn to change its behaviour to appear less threatening or back away. If someone is happy, the robot might also show joy. The researchers’ goal is to build robots that are not only able to respond to common emotions in any person, but which can also fine-tune their response from experience to the individuals around them. In a family environment, for example, the robot could learn that if one person bursts into tears it should try to comfort them, while if another person does the same that it is better to leave them alone. Following motherSeveral demonstration robots are being developed by the project partners to showcase their work. One mimics the behaviour of young animals that follow their mother around. The small-wheeled robots can follow a researcher around, learning from how they move whether to stick close to them or to trail them at a distance. The researchers are also developing a robot face that can indicate different ‘emotions’. By interpreting and responding to human emotions, such types of robots should be more readily accepted by the people they are meant to help. A caring machineRather than being seen as cold, emotionless machines, the robots would at least be able to give people the impression of understanding how they feel even though they cannot feel themselves. Such abilities are particularly important if robots are to be used to look after the sick or the elderly, to play a role as domestic helpers or even if they are simply intended for entertainment. Show the project objective Hide the project objective If robots are to be truly integrated in humans' everyday environment in order to provide services such as company, caregiving, entertainment, patient monitoring, aids in therapy, etc., they cannot be simply designed and taken "off the shelf" to be directly embedded into a real-life setting. Adaptation to incompletely known and changing environments and personalization to their human users and partners are necessary features to achieve successful long-term integration. This integration would require that, like children (but on a shorter time-scale), robots develop embedded in the social environment in which they will fulfil their roles.The overall goal of this project is the interdisciplinary investigation of socially situated development from an integrated or "global" perspective, as a key paradigm towards achieving robots that interact with humans in their everyday environments in a rich, flexible, autonomous, and user-centred way. To achieve this general goal we set the following specific objectives: 1) Identification of scenarios presenting key issues and typologies of problems in the investigation of global socially situated development of autonomous (biologically and robotic) agents. 2) Investigation of the roles of emotion, interaction, expression, and their interplays in bootstrapping and driving socially situated development, which includes implementation of robotic systems that improve existing work in each of those aspects, and their testing in the key identified scenarios.3) Integration of (a) the above "capabilities" in at least 2 different robotic systems, and (b) feedback across the disciplines involved.4) Identification of needs and key steps towards achieving standards in: (a) the design of scenarios and problem typologies, (b) evaluation metrics, (c) the design of robotic platforms and related technology that can be realistically integrated in people's everyday life. Fields of science medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusesHIVengineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringrobotics Programme(s) FP6-IST - Information Society Technologies: thematic priority under the specific programme "Integrating and strengthening the European research area" (2002-2006). Topic(s) IST-2005-2.6.1 - Advanced Robotics Call for proposal FP6-2005-IST-6 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme STREP - Specific Targeted Research Project Coordinator THE UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE EU contribution € 661 436,00 Address College Lane AL10 9AB Hatfield, Herts United Kingdom See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Participants (8) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE Switzerland EU contribution € 284 833,00 Address STATION 1, BATIMENT CE 1015 LAUSANNE See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Total cost No data ENTERTAINMENT ROBOTICS/H.H. LUND Denmark EU contribution € 280 000,00 Address HUNDERUPVEJ 43, C/O H.H. LUND 5000 ODENSE C See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITE DE CERGY-PONTOISE France EU contribution € 322 800,00 Address 2, RUE ADOLPHE CHAUVIN, PONTOISE 95302 CERGY PONTOISE See on map Total cost No data CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE France EU contribution € 271 750,00 Address PAVILLON CLERAMBAULT, HOPITAL DE LA SALPETRIERE, 47 BOULEVARD DE L'HOPITAL 75651 PARIS CEDEX 13 See on map Total cost No data ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS SAS France EU contribution € 190 968,00 Address RUE RAYMOND LOSSERAND 75014 PARIS See on map Total cost No data INSTITUTE OF COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS Greece EU contribution € 274 800,00 Address HEROON POLYTECHNEIOU 9 15780 ZOGRAPHOU See on map Activity type Research Organisations Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH, HIGHER EDUCATION CORPORATION United Kingdom EU contribution € 262 913,00 Address KING HENRY BUILDING 6, KING HENRY I STREET PO1 2DY PORTSMOUTH See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Total cost No data UNIVERSITE PIERRE ET MARIE CURIE - PARIS 6 France EU contribution € 0,00 Address 4 PLACE JUSSIEU 75252 PARIS CEDEX 05 See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Total cost No data
