Unit 3 Emilie Wouters DESMA 9

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 U3: Robotics + Art

    Robotics, accompanied by Machine learning and AI, are becoming increasingly human-like. Robotics experts have long tried to create robots that exhibit or mimic human emotion. Here, we will focus on the non verbal aspect of robotic emotion. Dr. David Hanson, in his Ted Talk presentation, discussed his work in creating realistic facial expressions on a robot.



    Basically, the faces have materials that are similar to the major facial muscles, each of which are powered by tiny batteries. The face itself is made of a material called Frubber. Now here’s what’s interesting about that. There was a robot that went viral a few years ago, called Sophia. Her face is made of the same material.



    Maša Jazbec, our guest speaker in class, talked about her. It takes some artistic skill to construct and color a realistic face that can move, stretch, wrinkle, and fold like that of a human. That is why Hanson Robotics made and patented a material called Frubber. This material mimics the feel and elasticity of skin, so that robots like Sophia can make realistic facial expressions. It got its name from the fusion of the words flesh and rubber, and is a more elastic spongy form of rubber. To make the android faces, they had to sculpt the face mold and eyes, and cover the face mold with Frubber.



The process of making an android face with Frubber

    This is a mix of art and robotics that was shared in class, though there are also many examples of robots and AI creating art. That might have to be for another time, though Sophia the robot did in fact make a self portrait. As for these androids who seem to approach human-like traits more and more, we’ll have to see where this goes. There’s already talk of embedding sensors in the faces and “skin” of androids in order to give them a sense of touch. Plus, AI is improving as we speak. Whether or not these advancements are good in the long run is a whole other debate that the show Black Mirror will certainly weigh in on.



References

“Frubber.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frubber.

Hanson Robotics. “The Making of Sophia: Frubber®.” Hanson Robotics, 7 Aug. 2019, www.hansonrobotics.com/the-making-of-sophia-frubber/.

Hanson, David. “Robots That Show Emotion.” Ted Talk. 2009.

Holland, Oscar. “Sophia the Robot 'Self-Portrait' NFT Sells for Almost $700K.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 Mar. 2021, www.cnn.com/style/article/nft-art-sophia-robot-self-portrait-scn/index.html.

“The Making of Sophia: Frubber®.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 June 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO1ruL2SCmc.

Jazbec, Maša. Lecture 3. April 2021

Sophia facial expressions. https://www.elitereaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/sophiacollagesm.jpg Digital Image

Einstein robot face https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c8/1b/26/c81b2668ac23b1f1761b0cd13bf3dfe2.jpg Digital Image

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