Furhat Robotics finally launched its face-swapping social robot which is capable of taking on any number of personalities for tons of practical use cases.
Furhat is not a full fledged robot but a disembodied bust that can look and sound like all kinds of virtual people. According to Engadget, it is pitched as a new type of computer interface that is more engaging that other smart technologies around us.
In a short clip, Furhat assumes the role of an unreasonable shopper who wants to return a pair of shoe which is worn out and is not even eligible for a return. Yet, the arguments that Furhat throws are absolutely what a store girl would never want to put up with. Right from the tone, the choice of words, and expressions, Furhat only comes across as being a robot when the camera pans on it.
The Furhat is what robots can be built on top of. It has a projection system that beams faces on to an opaque mask, a neck with three degrees of freedom for natural head movement. Cameras and microphones record the surrounding while speakers respond.
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