'Smart Fur' Lets Robo-Pets Read Owners' Emotions
From: InnovationNewsDaily - 03/05/2012
By: Rachel Kaufman 

University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers have developed a robotic
bunny that uses "smart fur" to mediate a user's emotions, calming them down
or cheering them up by leading them through deep-breathing exercises. The
researchers say smart fur sensors can tell the difference between a petting
motion, a scratch, or a breath, and ultimately will recognize up to 30
gestures. "The end goal of this would be to try to infer a person's emotional
state, given how they're touching the fur," says UBC graduate student Anna
Flagg. During testing, seven volunteers were recruited to scratch and pet the
smart fur in their own way. Despite the differences, there were enough
similarities that the system could tell the difference. The wired robot
rabbit already has helped children with anxiety disorders and children on the
autism spectrum. The researchers now are trying to adapt the technology for
adults, perhaps by applying it to a smartphone. "It would be interesting to
have a little companion with me that could see when I'm becoming stressed and
help guide my breathing, and maybe even notice it's happening before I notice
it," says UBC professor Karon MacLean. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.innovationnewsdaily.com/930-smart-fur-robot-rabbit.html

Links:
Anna Flagg
https://www.cs.ubc.ca/people/anna-flagg

Karon MacClean
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~maclean/
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/labs/spin/people/maclean-karon.html