Designed for companionship, a new toddler-sized robot can hold a conversation in 19 different languages.
Built by Paris-based robotics company Aldebaran and infused with language-learning software developed by voice-technology company Nuance, the robot has a voice that doesn't sound much older than it looks. The android can walk, brace itself if it falls and will develop its own personality as it gets better at speaking through repetition.
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"He lives his life on your side at home," Marine Fabrea, Aldebaran's head of communications, told Mashable in an email. "You can discuss with him, you can ask him to tell a story to your kids."
The difference between these robots and mindless machines is built-in emotional intelligence, according to Arnd Weil, Nuance's vice-president and general manager of automotives.
"What they are trying to do with the robot is mainly capturing what is the mood of that other person," he said. "It's more like somebody's coming home and he had a bad day, he's angry, so the robot should capture that … and react accordingly."
The robot will be able to access a cloud of data that builds its vocabulary, as well as help it understand the flow of conversation, Weil added; this way, it can better react to users the more they interact with it, much like how Nuance's text-reading app develops language skills.
Weil foresees the robots bringing out drinks, chatting with people who are waiting for appointments, acting as highly functional pets, and providing companionship to the elderly or children with disabilities.
"People do need somebody to talk to," he said. "A lot of people have animals or a dog or something, and this is just a new way of engaging with people."
The robots will be available next year.
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Image: Flickr, Stephen Chin