Personal robotics is one of the new frontiers of technology and Ex-Robots, a Chinese company, is looking to be at the forefront of human facial expressions. And a few other things, if what we’ve seen of the company is true, but mostly it’s about realistic non-verbal communication.
The company primarily manufactures robots for display in museums but is looking to expand its offerings into the… let’s call it the ‘personal companion‘ market, among others like healthcare and education. Robot teachers aren’t out of the question, it seems.
We’re Ex-Robots now
Ex-Robots isn’t operating in a vacuum, though the brief video of its hardware we’ve managed to locate suggests the company is good at what it does. Then again, so are Hanson Robotics (the operators of Sophia) and Engineered Arts (the creators of Ameca), other pioneers of advanced robot facial structures. Ex-Robots might also have a bit of a type going on, but that’s another story altogether.
Ex-Robots head Li Boyang, speaking to Reuters, explained that his company is working on a more commercial model than the hardware it currently supplies.
“We are also working on the foundation model. The model we’re making is multi-modal and capable of emotional expression. It can perceive the surrounding environment and produce appropriate facial feedback.”
Speaking to possible usages in the future, he added “Psychological counselling and health are certainly future application scenarios. We are currently conducting related research, such as auxiliary treatment and preliminary screening for emotional and psychological disorders.”
So the fact that most of the company’s female robots could best be described as ‘hot’ has no bearing on what the company plans to do with its hardware in the coming months and years — got it?