VOA科学技术2024--Chinese Company Develops Robots with Facial Expressions

Engineers at the Chinese company Ex-Robots are developing human-like robots at a factory in China's northeastern coastal¹ city of Dalian. Their goal is to increase the ability of the company's robots to show facial expressions and emotions.

Robot body parts like arms, feet, and heads are spread out around the factory. The parts are made from a soft, moveable material called silicone. And human-like robots in different stages of construction can be found nearby. Drawings of robot designs are on a wall.

Li Boyang is Ex-Robots chief executive². He said, "We have our own software and algorithm teams." Algorithms are commands or rules that a computer program follows. Robots need them to operate.

Li said, "There are many basic models and algorithms that are commonly open source, which everyone uses." Open-source programming is usually freely available to software developers to use in their systems.

But Li said that his company is centering its efforts on how to get the artificial intelligence (AI) "to recognize and express expressions and emotions."

In a demonstration³, for example, an Ex-Robots worker moved her head, smiled, and stuck out her tongue. A human-like robot then copied her movement using small motors placed in several spaces in its head.

Li said, "We are also working on the foundation model. The model we're making is multi-modal and capable of emotional expression."

Multi-modal AI can process different kinds of signals and can react to them. For example, a multi-modal system could react to video, text, sound or touch. Li added that it can examine the surrounding environment and produce correct facial feedback.

Ex-Robots said it takes from two weeks to a month to produce a humanoid robot. The robots cost from $207,000 to $276,000.

So far, the robots' main purpose is to be shown in museums. One of the museums is in the same building as the Ex-Robots factory.

Looking ahead, Li believes human-like robots will have a bigger part to play in the healthcare and education industries.

He said that mental health treatments like psychological counselling are ways these robots will be used in the future. He added that his company is currently⁴ researching treatments and information gathering⁵ for mental health disorders⁶.

Li said, "Moreover, I believe that emotional interaction has broader applications in service fields, such as those aimed at children."

Words in This Story

stage -n. a level of development in a process such as building something

construction - n. the act or process of building something (such as a house or road)

artificial intelligence - n. an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence

tongue - n. the soft, movable part in the mouth that is used for tasting and eating food and in human beings for speaking

foundation -n. the earliest model from which other models can be designed and built

museum - n. the soft, movable part in the mouth that is used for tasting and eating food and in human beings for speaking

interaction - v. to talk or do things with other people

broader - adj. including or involving many things or people: wide in range or amount

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》