The research team chose Albert Einstein as the model for their emotionally intelligent robot "because he's an icon of creativity, intelligence and science; he's emotionally accessible; he's lovable and visually recognizable very easily around the world," says Hanson.
The so-called "Einstein Robot," which was designed by Hanson Robotics of Dallas, Texas, recognizes a number of human facial expressions and can respond accordingly. Scientists consider it an unparalleled tool for understanding how both robots and humans perceive emotion, as well as a potential platform for teaching, entertainment, fine arts and even cognitive therapy.

"When a robot interacts in a way we feel is human, we can't help but react. Developing a robot like this one teaches us how sensitive we are to biological movement and facial expressions, and when we get it right, it's really astonishing."
For Einstein to crack a smile, 17 of the robot's 31 motors must whir into action and subtly adjust multiple points of articulation around his mouth and piercing brown eyes.
The robot's internal facial recognition software is what provides that context. Developed by Movellan and a team of graduate students at Calit2, the software is based on a series of computational algorithms derived from an analysis of more than one million facial images. It allows Einstein to understand and respond to a number of "perceptual primitives," such as expressions of sadness, anger, fear, happiness and confusion, as well as facial cues suggesting age and gender (even whether the person interacting with the robot is wearing glasses). The robot's parallel facial action coding system can detect simple gestures like nods, and mimic those reactions.
Another important part of the robot's inner workings is its Character Engine Artificial Intelligence Control Software, which allows the programmer to author and define the persona of the character so it can hold a conversation.
"This isn't yet a real manufacturing business — these robots are still being built by engineers, so they're still very expensive," Hanson cautions. "Right now it costs $50,000 and up for a robot with very few degrees of freedom; something full-featured like Einstein will cost $75,000 and up. But our aspiration and our core discoveries are targeting mass production and trying to get the robots made for under $200."