Nao Robot

When Nao is sad, he hunches his shoulders forward and looks down. When he's happy, he raises his arms, angling for a hug. When frightened, Naohe cowers, and he stays like that until he is soothed with some gentle strokes on his head.

Nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps, except that Nao is a robot — the world's first that can develop and display emotions. He can form bonds with the people he meets depending on how he is treated. The more he interacts with someone, the more Nao learns a person's moods and the stronger the bonds become.

"We're modelling the first years of life," said Lola Cañamero, a computer scientist at the University of Hertforshire who led the project to create Nao's emotions. "We are working on non-verbal cues and the emotions are revealed through physical postures, gestures and movements of the body rather than facial or verbal expression."

In future, say the scientists, robots are likely to act as companions or integrate with the web to order groceries online. They could also provide support for the elderly. In these uses some form of emotional display will be important in making those interactions more natural and more comfortable, Cañamero said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/09/nao-robot-develop-display-emotions