NAME
RUBI
CREATORS
Deborah Forster , ’ 91 , M . S . ’ 95 , Ph . D . ’ 12 , project scientist at the Qualcomm Institute | Javier Movellan | Machine Perception lab
ORIGINS
RUBI was designed to study the development of young children , whose ability to speak is limited . “ We ’ re working on understanding what it takes to have a natural interaction between robots and humans ,” says Movellan . “ We believe that to be useful to people , in educational settings or elsewhere , robots will have to get better at what humans do brilliantly without thinking — recognizing a voice , for example , or smiling back at just the right time .”
SUPERPOWERS
Equipped with a Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox ( CERT ), RUBI teaches preschoolers colors and shapes as well as songs . When she sees a child smiling , she giggles and encourages them in the lesson . This smile detection technology led to an algorithm derived from a dataset of more than 60,000 individuals ; the algorithm was later developed into Shutter Smile Technology in Sony digital cameras .
APPEARANCES
RUBI has been a hit with children at UC San Diego ’ s Early Childhood Education Center ( ECEC ), who love how RUBI giggles when tickled and flinches when bumped . “ It ’ s an enriching experience for both the children and the teachers ,” says Lydia Morrison , a retired ECEC teacher . “ They help us imagine new ways of teaching .”
SHAPE-SHIFTER
RUBI has undergone several redesigns — from being soft and plump with a computer monitor display to a boxy shape with flexible arms and a tablet as interface .
These robots are more than just the pretty faces you see here . Go online to see them smile , laugh , speak , jump , crawl , roll and more at TRITONMAG . COM / BOTS
RUBI ’ s touchscreen belly teaches children via games and singalongs ; she even giggles when tickled .
What you see here is RUBI-5 . She ’ s gone through several designs , with early versions even using parts bought from IKEA . See RUBI ’ s many facets at : tritonmag . com / bots
34 TRITON | WINTER 2016