Penguin robot can interact with humans

A robotic pet penguin which can interact with humans has been unveiled by South Korean researchers.

Pomi (Penguin Robot for Multimodal Interaction) can see, hear, touch and emit smells as well as making faces, the Korea Times reported on Friday.

It was developed by the state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) which plans to put Pomi to commercial use.

The institute said Pomi's software, which imitates human expressions of emotion, will be available on the market by the end of next month.

The robot can move its lips, eyebrows and even pupils freely to make faces and can emit two kinds of fragrances to match its emotions.

A "heart box" on the chest will feature different kinds of heartbeats depending on its mood when it is touched, the paper reported.

Pomi is programmed to answer users through voice-recognition technology and various sensors allow it to recognise and locate humans.

"Technologies of emotional expressions and user-interactive functions used in Pomi will contribute to the upgrading of robotic companions, and also to the manufacturing of more intelligent service robots," ETRI said.

It follows on from Kobie the robotic koala and Rabie the rabbit.

© 2008 AFP