Once you get past the fact that it has no skin, the new robot from Disney Research is an impressive feat of robotics. First reported by Gizmodo, the new robot can imitate human facial movements, specifically blinking and subtle head movements.
A sensor in its chest area (covered by a shirt, because the face is unsettling enough, thanks) alerts the robot when to turn and face a person in front of it, and its eye movements shift from direct eye contact to the rapid eye movements known as saccades. It also moves slightly up and down to mimic breathing.
The robot was developed by engineers at Disney’s Research division, Walt Disney Imagineering, and robotics researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the California Institute of Technology.
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