How We Feel About Robots That Feel

Octavia, a humanoid robot designed to fight fires on Navy ships, has mastered an impressive range of facial expressions. When she's turned off, she looks like a human-size doll. She has a smooth white face with a snub nose. Her plastic eyebrows sit evenly on her forehead like two little capsized canoes. When she's on, however, her eyelids fly open and she begins to display emotion.