I came across a brief side-bar in one of my favorite magazines (Utne
Reader, Jan-Feb 1998, page 11) which adds to this discussion.
(Beginning of quote)
For years, robots have been replacing factory workers in a variety of
industries. Soon they'll be able not only to take your job, but to pretend
to feel sorry for you as well.
According to "Technology Review" (Oct.1997), a research team led by Fumio
Hara at the Science University of Tokyo is developing a new generation of
robots that can identify and respond to human facial expressions. The
robot....replicates universal expressions- fear, surprise, happiness,
sadness, anger, disgust- with help of 18 tiny gears and a camera. A
computer connected to the camera determines a person's expressions- and
mood- by searching for variations in brightness on selected areas of the
face; then the robot responds by reproducing the expression. The response
is surprisingly accurate, replicating test subjects' expressions about 85%
of the time.
Scientists believe that the robots' empathetic response will help factory
workers feel more comfortable sharing their work place with machines. Now
if they could just wire up some of the managers.
(end of quote)
Tony Barrett
University of Idaho
tonyb@uidaho.edu http://www.uidaho.edu/~tonyb
--"Tony Barrett" <tonyb@uidaho.edu>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>