Data, Stand-Up Comedy Robot

Carnegie Mellon doctoral candidate Heather Knight is endeavoring to design a robot that can better imitate a human. She created Data, a small humanoid that may ultimately read and respond to social cues. Knight gives live performances with the Nao robot (similar to those used in RoboCup soccer) while helping to develop a touch activated sensor on his head and writing behavioral programs.

Her research goes even farther as she consulted an acting professor about gestures and learned timing from stand-up comedians. She even got a script for a bit from a Carnegie Mellon associate who was into Shakespeare.

Data, "If you prick us in our battery pack, do we not bleed our alkaline fluid?"

Knight does not want to replace people, only computers. We think she is well on the way.

Via WSJ

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