David Hanson: Robots that "show emotion"

David Hanson has been working on creating robots that are capable of reading emotion and showing empathy. Over the past ten years they have built about 20 robots using frubber to create the face that can portray emotions. Here is a picture of one of the robots mimicking Hanson's frown,

The robots are able to respond to you as well as picking up and reading your own emotions. They are also working on an animated robot that can one day possibly be a companion for children. It is able to form relationships because of its perception of people and the natural form of its interface that allows it to interact with humans, so people can believe the robot is actually a person.