NanoTech-Electronics

MEXI (Machine with Emotionally eXtended Intelligence) is a robotic head that can display artificial emotions by changing its facial expressions and adding emphasis to its spoken language. MEXI perceives its environment with the aid of two cameras and two microphones.

MEXI has 15 degrees of freedom for presenting different emotions like happiness, anger or fear by corresponding facial expressions generated by movements of its mouth, ears, eyes and neck. Furthermore, a loudspeaker is integrated in its mouth for talking to its observer in natural language. To draw conclusions about the observer's mood, MEXI analyzes his or her facial expression and natural-language utterances for certain keywords and for the sentence melody.

Using cameras and sensors, the very simple robots being built by the researchers – using mostly off-the-shelf parts – can detect different parameters, such as a person's facial expressions, voice, and proximity to determine emotional state.

The technology pulls together research in robotics, adaptive systems, developmental and comparative psychology, neuroscience and ethology, which is all about human behaviour.

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