The field of robotics is
fast-growing. Robots can now perform complicated movements with elegance
-- back-flipping,
practicing parkour moves, even "carving" classical sculptures.
Then there's Sophia, a robot
whose widespread appeal lies not in big, dramatic actions (her torso is often
fixed to a rolling base), but rather an unsettling human-like appearance,
compounded with the complex ability to express emotions.
"We're not fully there yet,
but Sophia can represent a number of emotional states, and she can also see
emotional expressions on a human face as well," explains David Hanson, the
founder of Hanson Robotics.
The firm has developed a number
of Sophias at their small research and design laboratory in Hong Kong, where
parts and pieces of Sophia 20, 21 and 22 remain strewn across the facility.
According to Hanson, Sophia now
has simulations of every major muscle in the human face, allowing her to
generate expressions of joy, grief, curiosity, confusion, contemplation,
sorrow, frustration, among other feelings.
"In some of the work we're
doing, she will see your expressions and sort of match a little bit and also
try to understand in her own way, what it is you might be feeling," says
Hanson.
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New technologies have enabled Sophia, a robot developed by
Hanson Robotics, to generate an astounding number of human-like facial
expressions. Credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
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Besides deep learning and a
pre-programmed set of expressions, Sophia's face is constructed using the
latest developments in material technology, meaning it appears softer, more
supple and therefore, more realistic. The lab also studies the neurobiology and
biology of human facial expressions to help inform how mechanical ones can
behave.
"She is a tool for science in
studying human to human interaction, and she's now a platform for allowing AI
to express natural-like human emotional state(s), which is something we're
developing. True emotive AI," says Hanson.
Universal appeal
When Hanson first began sculpting
Sophia, he wanted her form to resonate with people from around the world. To
that end, he looked to old statues of Nefertiti, ancient Chinese paintings,
Audrey Hepburn and even his wife as inspiration. But he also wanted to maintain
something of a robot sensibility, too.
"It was very important that
she represent this intersection of humanity and technology, with the intuitive
idea that technology can enhance humanity, help us actualize to higher states
of being," says Hanson.
"At the same time,
(technology can) provoke these questions: What does it mean to be human? What
is real, what isn't real? What is the reality of our future which does not yet
exist?"
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Sophia on stage at the RISE Technology conference in Hong
Kong. Credit: ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
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Since her activation in 2016,
Sophia has since graced the covers of fashion publications and starred in a
recent Moncler campaign. During an event at Shanghai Fashion Weekend, Sophia
wore 3-D copper arm cuffs and sculptural garments designed by British artist
Sadie Clayton.
"The reason I was interested
in working with Sophia is because being an artist, it fuses fashion, art and
technology. This was the most natural, organic way of me developing my
process," says Clayton.
"I think she is so stunning
in her right. And the expressions that she gives, it's a really beautiful, warm
feeling."
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Sophia, a robot created by Hanson Robotics, was named by
United Nations Development Programme as its first non-human Innovation Champion
in November 2017. Credit: PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
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Besides modeling, she has made
appeared on talk shows and spoken at conferences about issues ranging from
artificial intelligence to the role of robots. Controversially,
she was even granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, becoming the first robot to
have a nationality.
"She's the one robot of the
dozens of robots I have designed, that has become really internationally
famous," says Hanson.
"I don't know what it is
about Sophia, that speaks to people, but I hope that we can develop our AI and
robots in a way that makes a deep emotional connection."
Source:https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/sophia-robot-artificial-intelligence-smart-creativity/index.html
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