Nadia Thalmann (professor and director of the Institute for Media Innovation of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore) has created a humanoid robot which she named Nadine. To be able to create this robot she spent three decades researching virtual people — according to the website descopera.ro.
Humanoid robots used as personal assistants
Nadine — the robot created by Nadia Thalmann — is a brand new humanoid robot. It may be used as a personal assistant for the elderly. She is 1.7 m tall, has brown hair, soft skin, and an expressive face. Nadine’s software allows the robot to remember a previous conversation, but also to express a range of emotions.
Nadine is not commercially available. However, Nadia Thalmann believes the robots could be used one day to take care of people who have an illness such an dementia. Thalmann said that if these people are left alone, they will regress very quickly, so they should always be interacting with someone. She also added that Nadine was capable of conversation, she can play a game and she can also tell stories.
During CASA’15 I had the opportunity to meet Nadine, a social humanoid robot that resembles its creator Prof Nadia Thalmann (NTU – Singapore). This cool robot is designed to communicate fluently with humans and entertain them. Nadine utilizes sophisticated AI algorithms and is backed by millions of dollars and years of research and development. Here my supervisor (Prof Jian J Zhang) and I are conversing with Nadine, she answers some questions, and sings us a Daisy Daisy song (though not very melodic). The robot is constantly improving its learning patterns by communicating with humans on a daily basis and will one day (maybe 20 years from now) finds its way into our homes as a valuable and autonomous entity.
Robots that can play with children could be used in the future
Thalmann and her team are also working on robots that can play with the children. Apart from their social role, the robot could also watch the children and would tell the parents or the nanny if something is wrong. This project is still in an early development phase and a prototype is not available yet. The professor said that they also plan to program the robot to speak in different languages. Thus, they can be used as an educational tool for children. Thalmann also said that the robot will be an active toy. This toy will interact with the child unlike most toys for children that are passive. She added that the robot will also be able to remember the preferences of the child.
New generation of robots
Nadine the robot has been unveiled, and as robotics technology gets more advanced, humanoid robots are looking more and more human. In this episode of SciShow News we explore how Nadine works and why a lot of people find it creepy.
Nadine represents a new generation of robots that are able to make conversation, adapt to their answers, and remember their previous conversations. According to the inventor, Nadine also has her own personality. She is capable of displaying both positive emotions and negative emotions. This new type of social robot could eventually be marketed to work for companies as personal assistants or to be companions for the elderly and children.
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