by Playfuls Staff |
26th June 2006
First we had robots that can “feel”. Now we are going to have robots that read our minds.[more]
If you go to a major science exhibition from Britain, held between July 3 and 6, you might see them in action. The major scientific breakthrough is considered the future ability of computers to help autistic persons recognize human emotions.
The visitors of the next week’s Royal Society summer science exhibition are to participate at a “live” experiment, where computers are to read their emotional status, by analyzing their facial expressions.
A commercial application for this type of robots could be the smart advertisement system: a robot will play certain ads depending on the mood of the passer-by. If someone feels gloomy and expresses that in exterior the robot analyzes the facial features and decides it’s time for some happy holydays… "Our research could enable websites to tailor advertising or products to your mood," Peter Robinson, professor of computer technology at the University of Cambridge said.
"For example, a web cam linked with our software could process your image, encode the correct emotional state and transmit information to a website."
As for those who suffer from autism or the Aspberger’s syndrome the technology can help them interpret other’s facial expression. Actually the developers are working with American colleagues to build a headset for those emotionally disabilitated, which will allow them to understand what others are communicating through facial movements.
A prototype has been developed at the University of Cambridge and will be unveiled at the exhibition in London.
Peter Robinson, professor of computer technology at the university, said: "Imagine a computer that could pick the right emotional moment to try to sell you something, a future in which mobile telephones, cars and websites could read our minds and react to our moods."
The invention works pretty “simple”: a small camera takes pictures of one’s face and transmits them to a computer program, which analyzes 24 key-points or “feature-points” (the edge of the nose, the eyebrows and the corners of the mouth, etc.).
Actors were used to indicate to the computer what facial expressions correspond to certain emotions, and for now the computer can recognize almost 20 different emotions indicated by a nod or shake of the head, a raise of the eyebrow or pull on the corner of the mouth.
The team is refining the system with "real" people's expressions and hopes that the exhibition will generate valuable new data to improve the program's ability to read faces.
Prof Robinson said: "The system can cope with the variation in people's facial composition, for example if you have a round or thin face or if you wear glasses or have a beard.
"However, there are small variations in the way people express the same emotion. My colleagues working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are fine-tuning the system by testing it with real people's reactions to everyday life using cameras attached to neck-braces."
Alternative applications include the improvement of drivers’ safety and comfort. The developers are registering the moods and facial expressions of tested subjects and are monitoring them to identify more complex expressions linked to confusion, boredom or tiredness.
"We are working with a major car company and it is possible that this technology could feature in cars within five years," Prof Robinson said.
He also added that the computer can be helpful in online teaching- to assess the extent of understanding of a student of what had been explained by analyzing his or her facial expressions.
