Technology company Embodied has developed a robot companion for children that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to process and respond to natural conversation and facial expressions.
The robot, called Moxie, is an "animate companion" designed to help children between the age of five and 10 develop their social, emotional and cognitive skills through play-based learning.
Moxie has been shortlisted in the product design category of this year's Dezeen Awards.
Embodied created Moxie as a robot companion for children
As Embodied explained, Moxie was designed to be "tall enough to be of interest without being unwieldy", measuring at just under 40 centimetres in height.
The design team created a face for the robot that is without specific details like wrinkles and shadows to make it easier to express feelings such as interest or worry. They also gave Moxie large and "friendly" eyes to enable children to better recognise certain emotions, and a soft, smooth body coloured in a "gender-neutral" teal hue.
The robot is around 40 centimetres in height
Other features designed to be "endearing" are the robot's teardrop-shaped ears, its round, helmet-like face and its hands, which have a simplified form with a pointed but rounded index finger and a thumb on the inside.
Moxie can turn 360-degrees on its base in reaction to the child, as well as bending at the neck, stomach, and base to help express emotions.
Moxie is designed...