Life-Like Robot

Canadian scientists are developing a robot that mimics the human face's expressions and human hand’s tactile processes, which they say will be useful in areas like nursing, nuclear plant maintenance, and explosive device disposal. A key part of the technology is a new biology-inspired touch-sensitive artificial skin that is able to sense contact, as well as the profile, temperature and elasticity of object surfaces, ultimately raising the tactile sensitivity of robots to the human level. The artificial skin is made of elastic silicon and embedded with tactical and temperature sensors. Researchers are using a robot as their test subject, methodically replacing its mechanical parts with more life-like parts they are designing.

They will start with the head and then the hands. They are designing some of the mechanical and electronic sensor elements for devices, such as intricate prosthetic limbs that can covey large amounts of information through a sense of touch. Researchers are also mounting a set of actuators on various parts of a newly acquired, anatomically correct model of a human skull — complete with a spring-loaded jaw that replicates the movement of the lower face. The actuators will then be covered with an elastic skin. The aim is to produce a highly life-like face, capable of representing complex human expressions ranging from surprise to anger.

More information:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/01/20/tech-robot-ottawa.html