Robots Can Learn Much From High-Tech Playthings

March 22, 2001 | Source: New York Times

The current new generation of electronic toys will make children more readily accept robotic assistants in the home or office when they are adults.

Pradeep Khosla, a professor of engineering and robotics at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, believes that robot designers need to make these machines human-friendly and take away the intimidation factor. “A robot must be able to understand humans on their terms. That means understanding spoken human language, gestures and body language.”

A debate is brewing about whether home-based robots should look like friendly human beings or animals or just be utilitarian.