Talking to robots can be a daunting task. They have that monotone speech, and can only understand basic commands at best. But what if we could have a conversation with them or better yet, incorporate them into a conversation with a group of people? Waseca University’s Kobayashi Laboratory in Perceptual Computing recently unveiled their third generation robot called SCHEMA that can join in natural human conversation. Based on Acoustic Signal Processing Pattern Recognition the robot can effectively engage in conversations with multiple people by picking up on certain words or phrases and then talking about the relevant topic involved. For example, when two individuals are talking about their favorite movie and ask SCHEMA what its favorite movie is, the robot responds that it likes ‘Roman Holiday’, and when asked why it likes that movie goes on to say that it loves Audrey Hepburn. The robot can even identify new people that join into the conversation and respond accordingly.
Here is a link to the video of SCHEMA in action:
Not only does SHEMA look cartoonishly cute but can even speak both Japanese and English. We could be friends SCHEMA, that is, if love of Audrey Hepburn films. Imagine what you all could talk about then!
Eavesdropper