Flash is a robot with a surprising amount of personality, without getting anywhere near the uncanny valley. Watch as he shows of how he can learn to name colors and generally join in with humans.
The Flash robot is a Polish construction and it is an interesting approach to the problem. First it's a two-wheel "segway" style robot which seem like a reasonable replacement for two legs. It also clearly has the ability to track a human. As you can see in the video it is constantly moving to position itself in front of its trainer. This is probably also the reason why the trainer keeps moving as if he was hyperactive - to keep the robot locked on. Even so, towards the end of the video the robot seems to lose the trainer.
Finally, the head part of is a separate project - EMYS EMotive HeadY System - and you can see the a demo of its range of expressions as part of the video.
"This demo shows how robot FLASH is interacting with people. The demo scenario has been divided into two phases. In the first phase, the robot asks that person to teach him colors. The person can teach the robot new colors by presenting in his right hand an object and proclaiming its color. In the second phase the robot feels very proud that he knows colors very well and wants to demonstrate his skills. In this activity the person presents the robot an object and asks to tell him the color's name. The answers provided by the agent are verified by the person who announces the result."
It is amazing how such simple learning algorithms, added to an effective body, manage to create the illusion of intelligence and personality.
It is worth seeing this video of realtime simulated water flow. It isn't perfect, but it is very good, and what can you say but "wow" when you watch all that simulated water sloshing about!
Microsoft has just published a new white paper - Cancelling a project (without cancelling your career). Is it self help or does it intend to send us a message. Surely it cannot be serious?
