One of the major areas in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) has driven major advances is facilitating verbal communication for digital devices. However, I was interested to read this article that suggests that non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions, gestures and other body language, may be the next frontier for AI.
It seems that a UK company has come up with an expressive robot that can act as a test bed for AI technologies. From the teaser video released by the company, the expressions are surprisingly life like and it will be interesting to see if AI can be applied to convincingly apply the correct expression as the correct response to something in a conversation or other cue.
This is another great example of potential for AI innovation. We've seen a rapidly increasing trend for AI patent filings at the EPO that go hand in hand with the increasing adoption of AI technology into a wide range of applications. This activity is no doubt helped in part by the EPO's clarification that new and inventive AI inventions can be potentially patentable if they are directed to a specific technical application (technically applied AI) or are adapted to a specific technical implementation, such as being specifically adapted to use different types of processors for different steps to enhance operating efficiency.
Whatever happens, upcoming developments in AI shouldn't leave you with a look of shock on your face!
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