A robot face so realistic that it can even flutter its eyelids has been hailed by its inventors as the next-step in human-robot relations.
Mask-bot, developed by engineers at the Technical University of Munich and in Japan, can also move its head a little, raise its eyebrows and talk, bringing the sort of robots seen on blockbuster I, Robot a step closer.
The realism is achieved by a projector positioned behind the mask accurately beaming a human face onto the back of a mask, producing features that can even be seen from the side.
“Mask-bot will influence the way in which we humans communicate with robots in the future,”predicts Professor Gordon Cheng, head of the research team.
The robot’s language skills are already such that upon hearing the word “rainbow”， it replies: “When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act like a prism and form a rainbow.”
However, Mask-bot is not yet able to understand much of the spoken word.
Mask-bot’s face has its origins in cinema technology first developed by Walt Disney.
Whereas Walt Disney projected images from the front, the makers of Mask-bot use on-board rear projection to ensure a seamless face-to-face interaction.
Mask-bot is also bright enough to function in daylight thanks to a particularly strong and small projector and a coating of luminous paint sprayed on the inside of the plastic mask.
据英国《每日邮报》11月8日报道，发明家研制出了一款能够眨眼的仿真机器人，在研制人工智能机的道路上前进了一步。
这款面具机器人由慕尼黑工业大学以及日本的工程师研发。它还能够轻微的转动头部，抬眉以及说话。这使得人类离研发出与电影《人工智能》中同类型的机器人更近了一步。
实际上这些面部动作是用安装在面具后的投影仪精确的照在人脸上而获得的。它制造出了即使从侧面也能看得到的容貌。
该研发小组的负责人——戈登-陈教授预言：“面具机器人将会影响未来人类和机器人的交流方式。”
这款机器人的语言能力已经到达当听到词语“彩虹”就回复“当阳光穿透空气中的雨滴，它们就能起到棱镜的作用反射光线从而形成彩虹。”
然而，面具机器人尚未能理解大多数的口语。
面具机器人的脸部源自于由迪尼斯公司最先研发的电影技术。
然而迪斯尼公司是从前方投影成像的，而面具机器人的制造者使用的是车载式背面投影仪，确保了毫无阻碍的面对面互动模式。
由于安装了一个特别的强光小型投影仪，并且在塑料面具的内部涂有发光漆，使得面具机器人足够明亮，在日光下工作也能正常工作。
