As robots and artificial agents become increasingly integrated into daily life, enhancing their ability to interact with humans is essential. Emotions, which play a crucial role in human interactions, can improve the naturalness and transparency of human-robot interactions (HRI) when embodied in artificial agents. This study aims to employ Affect Control Theory (ACT), a psychological model of emotions deeply rooted in interaction, for the generation of synthetic emotions. A platform-agnostic framework inspired by ACT was developed and implemented in a humanoid robot to assess its impact on human perception. Results show that the frequency of emotional displays impacts how users perceive the robot. Moreover, appropriate emotional expressions seem to enhance the robot's perceived emotional and cognitive agency. The findings suggest that ACT can be successfully employed to embed synthetic emotions into robots, resulting in effective human-robot interactions, where the robot is perceived more as a social agent than merely a machine.

Increasing anthropomorphic robot behavioral design could affect trust and cooperation positively. However, studies have shown contradicting results and suggest a task-dependent relationship between robots that display emotions and trust. Therefore, this study analyzes the effect of robots that display human-like emotions on trust, cooperation, and participants' emotions. In the between-group study, participants play the coin entrustment game with an emotional and a non-emotional robot. The results show that the robot that displays emotions induces more anxiety than the neutral robot. Accordingly, the participants trust the emotional robot less and are less likely to cooperate. Furthermore, the perceived intelligence of a robot increases trust, while a desire to outcompete the robot can reduce trust and cooperation. Thus, the design of robots expressing emotions should be task dependent to avoid adverse effects that reduce trust and cooperation.

The current pandemic has made us befriend one technology which is often considered as our intellectual rival: robots. We have read several accounts of how robots have been resourceful in helping us fight the harrowing effects of COVID, like assisting us in our mission to find a cure drug and even sanitize public spaces. However, the crisis has also shown that robots can be our emotional support too. The scientists from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, have programmed robots to address the instances of loneliness caused due to social distancing and isolation that have become new normal and mandatory due to COVID. This is not the first time that researchers around the world have been experimenting with emotional AI for the greater good of humans. Mauro Dragone, who is the project's lead scientist, believes that this study can help understand the needs of the most vulnerable at this time and what technology could be used to make their lives better.

The current pandemic has made us befriend one technology which is often considered as our intellectual rival: robots. We have read several accounts of how robots have been resourceful in helping us fight the harrowing effects of COVID, like assisting us in our mission to find a cure drug and even sanitize public spaces. However, the crisis has also shown that robots can be our emotional support too. The scientists from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, have programmed robots to address the instances of loneliness caused due to social distancing and isolation that have become new normal and mandatory due to COVID. This is not the first time that researchers around the world have been experimenting with emotional AI for the greater good of humans.

Are you just a computer made of meat? Are all your thoughts, feelings and experiences nothing more than circuits made from neurons in your head? If you're like a lot of people, your answer to this question will be a definitive "No!" From science to philosophy, there are lots of good reasons to hold that human beings are more than just computing machines. Unfortunately, many of the technologists bringing versions of artificial intelligence to the market are already sure they know that we are. Suddenly we might be leaving our grandmas and maybe even our kids with emotional robots because, oh well, everybody's doing it. For them people are, indeed, just biological computers.

Robots that can think and feel like people could soon be living among us, according to one expert. An AI engineer, who has invented a'virtual nervous system', believes it is only a matter of time before robotics hardware catches up to his software. He says responsive robots could be a common sight in businesses and homes around the world within the next ten years. Robots that can think and feel like people could soon be living among us, according to one expert. An AI engineer, who has invented a'virtual nervous system', believes it is only a matter of time before robotics hardware catches up to his software (stock) Dr Mark Sagar is the CEO of Soul Machines, an AI company in New Zealand that specialises in creating hyper-realistic 3D avatars.

Scientists are closer to creating a computer with emotions. Researchers in Russia are expected to reveal an emotional computer within a year and a half, which will be able to think like a person and build up trust, its creators say. The system, called'Virtual Actor', is being created by the National Research Nuclear University in Moscow. Computers are machines used for practical reasons, without any emotion involved. The AI, called'Virtual Actor', is expected to be online within the next year and a half.

Scientists are closer to creating a computer with emotions. Researchers in Russia are expected to reveal an emotional computer within a year and a half, which will be able to think like a person and build up trust, its creators say. The system, called'Virtual Actor', is being created by the National Research Nuclear University in Moscow. Computers are machines used for practical reasons, without any emotion involved. The AI, called'Virtual Actor', is expected to be online within the next year and a half.

Scientists are closer to creating a computer with emotions. Researchers in Russia are expected to reveal an emotional computer within a year and a half, which will be able to think like a person and build up trust, its creators say. The system, called'Virtual Actor', is being created by the National Research Nuclear University in Moscow. Computers are machines used for practical reasons, without any emotion involved. The AI, called'Virtual Actor', is expected to be online within the next year and a half.

Pepper is a child-height human-shaped robot described as having been designed to be a genuine companion that perceives and acts upon a range of human emotions. SoftBank, the Japanese telecom giant, acquired Aldebaran Robotics and commissioned the development of Pepper. Subsequently SoftBank joint ventured with Alibaba and Foxconn to form a development, production and marketing entity for the robots. There has been much fanfare about Pepper, particularly about it's ability to use its body movement and tone of voice to communicate in a way designed to feel natural and intuitive. The number of Peppers sold to date is newsworthy.