A computer genius dubbed the “robot whisperer” is teaching her machines to be more human so they can work better alongside us.
Madeline Gannon says this includes her one-tonne droids learning to be cheeky, friendly or even bored.
This will make robots more able to collaborate and communicate, helping us become “better, faster and stronger” without taking our jobs, she argues.
Dr Gannon, 32, works with large, powerful £250,000 machines normally seen on production lines.
One, Mimus — an arm-like metal contraption — captivated 48,000 people at the Design Museum, Kensington, last year when it acted like a curious and easily distracted puppy.
Dr Gannon said: “These machines are designed to do what you tell them. So I help them misbehave to make them feel more lifelike, more rebellious. We don’t want to be replaced by machines, and the future I want is where their unique abilities are coordinated to empower me to be better, faster, stronger.
“I’m working on ways of unlocking their abilities as they are mostly locked away in factories, replacing human labour. I’ve learned to talk to these machines and have an affectionate place in my heart for them. I think of them as companions sharing my lab space.”
Dr Gannon wowed a World Economic Forum event in Tianjin, China, in September as 10 robots, linked by ethernet to share a “brain”, peered at visitors.
At her Atonaton lab in Pittsburgh, the scientist and artist teaches robots with depth-sensing cameras in their tentacles “micro-cues” for body language.
Her software tells them to scan heads and hands and exhibit emotions such as impatience, curiosity and indifference. They approach cautiously. If a person looks away, they vye for their gaze by chirping their motors, or try to befriend someone else.
Dr Gannon said: “I gave them an attention span because if you’re not doing anything interesting why should a robot pay attention to you?”
