By now you are familiar with the grandfatherly Einstein robot. It was developed by KAIST, but some researchers at the University of California, San Diego have been tinkering with Albert on the side, with their own Einstein bot. Now they’ve taught it a few creepy tricks.

The bot has been able to display a full range of expressions through facial movements for some time, but now it can teach itself how to smile or display other emotions thanks to a new trial-and-error technique called “body babble.” Apparently it works by comparing Einstein’s attempts at an expression with some facial recognition software, which provides the Al with some positive feedback each time he manages an actual expression. Video below.
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You might remember the Einstein head from Hanson Robotics. The latest version of the bot was shown off at this year’s TED Conference and it’s the most sophisticated yet.

The researchers at UCSD are interested in how Einstein’s head would interact with a classroom full of high school kids, so they are going to stick him in a classroom. Einstein can pick out facial features and react to them, whether its spotting a pair a glasses or how young someone looks, so the classroom is a perfect place to test him out.

[Gizmowatch]

In the film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, a robot was used to mimic an older version of Brad Pitt. A robot that needed 155 technicians to work flawlessly. The same technology has been used in a robot version of the famous scientist Albert Einstein.

Einstein will greet you at the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in Long Beach, California. The robot was designed by David Hanson, a roboticist from Dallas, TX, and he follows onlookers with his eyes, and smiles or frowns when it’s appropriate. The robotic face uses 32 motors to create the expressions, and two hidden cameras for the eyes.

The latest Einstein robot is the fourth of its kind, created just two months ago. Other Hanson robots can be seen at universities and museums around the world.

[New Launches]