This robot predicts when you're going to smile – and smiles back

The Emo robot mimics people's facial expressions A humanoid robot can predict whether someone will smile a second before they do, and match the smile on its own face. The creators hope the technology could make interactions with robots more lifelike. Although artificial intelligence can now mimic human language to an impressive degree, interactions with physical robots often fall into the "uncanny valley", in part because robots can't replicate the complex non-verbal cues and mannerisms that are vital for communication. Now, Hod Lipson at Columbia University in New York and his colleagues have created a robot called Emo that uses AI models and high-resolution cameras to predict people's facial expressions and try to replicate them. It can anticipate whether someone will smile about 0.9 seconds before they do, and smile itself in sync.