this is the most expressive robot we’ve ever seen

SIGGRAPH’s attendees in vancouver had the chance to interact with one of the most expressive robots we have ever seen. dubbed SEER: simulative emotional expression robot, the humanoid head was created by japanese artist takayuki todo and it can either make eternal eye contact with you or imitate your expressions. with its cute face, this robot seems to be generating empathy with the public instead of pushing them away.

techcrunch editor devin coldewey interacting with SEER at SIGGRAPH
gif via techcrunch

when in imitative mode, SEER accommodates its eyebrows, eyelids and position of its head to mimic the viewer. with its realistic eyes and its delicate, neutral sculpting, its facial expressions appear almost human. as for the eye contact mode, the robot follows your eyes around, making uninterrupted contact.

‘if an amazon echo had those eyes, you’d never forget it was listening to everything you say. you might even tell it your problems,’ comments techcrunch.

SEER: simulative emotional expression robot has been created by japanese artist takayuki todo

the humanoid head can either make eternal eye contact with you, or imitate your expressions

it can move its eyelids, eyebrows and head

SEER has been generating more empathy than disdain

it has a cute, childlike face