In science fiction, humans always have to save the Earth from robotic domination. There are rarely movies where robots and humans live happily ever after (unless they involve Robin Williams). Why can’t we just all get along? Part of the problem is probably that robots are notoriously scary looking. No one in their right mind would want to hang out with a spooky spider dog or a glowing metal skeleton. If robots were just a bit less scary and a bit more cute, maybe people wouldn’t be so afraid to interact with them.
One of the biggest difficulties in robotics and artificial intelligence today is figuring out how people interact with machines. Usually, robots learn how to act around people with machine learning and computer vision techniques. Unfortunately, these complicated techniques are incredibly difficult, not to mention expensive.
Some roboticists have found a simple way around this problem by making their robots look friendly. Taking advantage of people’s natural love for all things small and cute, Alexander Reben at MIT Media Lab created a robot that everyone wants to stop and interact with. Reben wanted to make a robot that could get people to answer interview questions on camera, and he needed to do it on a budget. Enter Boxie, a tiny cardboard robot with minimal computational capabilities. By giving Boxie big eyes and a little cardboard head, Reben realized he could get people to instantly gravitate toward it without implementing much additional functionality. When Boxie encounters a person, he even utilizes a cute voice and asks to be picked up. This way, Boxie can get good footage of people answering his interview questions with little effort and without ever needing complicated artificial intelligence.
Cute robots are also being used for more serious endeavors in healthcare and therapy. In Japan, where the elderly population is steadily growing, The National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology is helping to make robots that help comfort and care for people in need, like PARO the therapeutic seal. PARO’s big eyes and soft fur makes it look just like a real pet while its sensors allow it to recognize when it’s being pet, talked to or held. This adorable, responsive, easy to care for “pet” allows people like the elderly or the ill to experience companionship even if they don’t have the ability to take care of a real animal. It’s even easy for caretakers to check a patient’s status, as the robot’s sensors can be used to monitor a patient’s health without seeming as intimidating as traditional equipment.
For engineers faced with the complicated task of making robots that can interact easily with people, complicated artificial intelligence might only be part of the solution. By combining lovable looks with ingenuity in artificial intelligence, engineers are creating robots that are becoming more useful than ever outside factory assembly lines. I, for one, am glad that if robots are getting smarter, they are getting more adorable too. After all, if they do end up dominating the Earth, wouldn’t it be at least a little bit better if they were all cute?
