Communication face-to-face: Dr. Takaaki Kuratate and his Mask-Bot. Photo: Uli Benz / TU Muenchen
Robotics researchers in Munich have joined forces with Japanese scientists to develop an ingenious technical solution that gives robots a human face. By using a projector to beam the 3D image of a face onto the back of a plastic mask, and a computer to control voice and facial expressions, the researchers have succeeded in creating Mask-bot, a startlingly human-like plastic head. Yet even before this technology is used to give robots of the future a human face, it may well soon be used to create avatars for participants in video conferences. The project is part of research being carried out at CoTeSys, Munich’s robotics Cluster of Excellence. via Technische Universitaet Muenchen
