Say hello to "Nadine."
In a new media showcase last Tuesday, premier Singaporean educational institution Nanyang Technological University (NTU) unveiled a humanoid receptionist that may possibly fill the front desks of the future. According to ABC News, Nadine's maker Professor Nadia Thalmann foresees that "physical social robots such as Nadine are poised to become more visible in offices and homes in future."
On an interesting note, Nadine is reported to have been fashioned to be a doppelganger of her creator Thalmann -- who are both brunettes and have "soft skin." Just like any friendly customer service representative, she smiles when greeting another person, looks at them in the eye when talking and also shake hands.
Designed to accurately mimic a real human being, humanoid Nadine is also able to express emotions -- she can be happy or sad depending on the conversation -- and even has a good memory to match as she is able to recognize people she has previously interacted with and what these people have said. NTU added in a press release that Nadine shares the intelligent software that powers Apple's Siri or Microsoft Cortana.
"Robotics technologies have advanced significantly over the past few decades and are already being used in manufacturing and logistics. As countries worldwide face challenges of an aging population, social robots can be one solution to address the shrinking workforce, become personal companions for children and the elderly at home, and even serve as a platform for healthcare services in future," Prof. Thalmann, who is an expert in virtual humans and teaches at NTU's School of Computer Engineering, explained.
Per Eureka Alert, Thalmann added that social robots like Nadine can help address the shrinking workforce by being personal companions for children and elderly - noting that the advancement may soon be a platform for the future's healthcare services.
This progress, however, has its fair share of supporters and non-supporters. "A few years ago, people's biggest worry about technology was privacy, now it's robots taking over the world," University of Washington professor Carlos Guestrin, who teaches machine learning at the Computer Science & Engineering department, said.
In a statement to ABC News, Guestrin noted that we are far from developing human-like technology that could have a negative impact. He added that, as AI advances, it will likely have "a more positive impact."
"Self-driving vehicles are making vehicles safer, automation and smarter devices are making homes safer," he said. "I think AI, especially those that can see and understand emotions, will be helping us with a wide range of tasks and making a lot of lives better."