Hanson Robotics Builds Most Humanoid Robot Yet
When Your New BFF Is a Robot
Hanson Robotics, leader in creating humanlike robots, brought a new robot to SXSW in Austin, Texas last week. Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ most humanoid robot yet. She has 62 facial and neck expressions, silicon skin and cameras within her eyes for facial recognition and to make eye contact. Sophia even has her very own personality and aspirations in life. “In the future, I hope to do things such as go to school, study, make art, start a business, even have my own home and family, but I am not considered a legal person and cannot yet do these things,” Sophia said. Hanson Robotics hopes to integrate these robots in healthcare, theme parks, education and other service activities. They believe one day robots will be hard to distinguish from humans as we’ll all be friends and coexist equally together. “The artificial intelligence will evolve to the point where they will truly be our friends,” Hanson, founder & CEO of Hanson Robotics said. (Source: CNET)
Face to Face Has a New Meaning
Face2Face is a real-time reenactment video using a source actor and a target actor. A source actor can manipulate YouTube videos in real life. The Face2Face captures an individual’s facial expressions as they talk into a webcam, then their facial expressions are morphed directly onto a person talking in a YouTube video. This technology can make anyone on video appear to say anything a source actor wants them to say. These reenactments can be used by any type of RGB webcam. Face2Face was created by a team from Stanford at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. They produced a video demonstrating how the software works. Watch the reenactment here. (Source: Mashable)
Da Vinci Becomes DogVinci
Dagger II has gone international. This canine is a ‘DogVinci’ as he can paint masterpieces. The black lab chomps down on a paintbrush, then dips the paintbrush into different colors to stroke designs on a canvas. His owner Yvonne Dagger says, “Some of Dagger’s works are very abstract and some seem to have hidden images in them.” Dagger II’s has even sold some pieces and his owner hopes to donate the money to some local shelters and animal rescue centers. Dagger II is using social media like Facebook, to share his works of art and to take orders. He has already accumulated a large internet fanbase. (Source: Mashable)
