Technology
Disney 's new skinless robot could blink like a human, because why not?
If you've gotten over the fact that it doesn't have any skin, the latest Disney Research robot is an amazing robotic feat. First mentioned by Gizmodo, the new robot can mimic human facial gestures, specifically blinking and small movements of the head.
A sensor in its chest region (covered by a shirt, since the face is disturbing enough, thanks to it) warns the robot to turn and face the human in front of it, and its eye movements change from direct eye contact to quick eye movements known as saccades. It also goes up and down slightly to imitate the breathing.
The robot was built by Disney Research Engineers, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Robotics Researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the California Institute of Technology.
Although most humanoid robots usually center their eyes on the human face and remain there, that's not how humans communicate with each other (except for Zoom calls, maybe). In his paper Practical and Immersive Robot Gaze, the Disney Research team explained:
- Gaze has been shown to be a key social signal, shaping perceptions of interaction partners. For example, people who make more eye contact with us are perceived to be similar to us, as well as more intelligent, conscientious, sincere, and trustworthy. Furthermore, gaze appears to also convey complex social and emotional states.
- Given the importance of gaze in social interactions as well as its ability to communicate states and shape perceptions, it is apparent that gaze can function as a significant tool for an interactive robot character. Thus, the aim of this work is to develop a system to emulate human-like mutual gaze.
It's not hard to envision how Disney could use this technology, say, for animatronic characters in its theme parks. For some time, the engineering branch of the organization has been focusing on creating more lifelike robots; in 2018, it revealed the Stickman robot that could do backflips in mid-air, to simulate the height of a human stunt performer with arms lifted over his or her head.
They're just going to need to apply something that looks like skin to the robot's eye-tracking skull. Conquering the uncanny valley is one thing, but left as it is, this robot will actually fear Disneyland visitors to try out the Pirates of the Caribbean.
