Tag: The Verge

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Ameca’s Smile

UK-based company Engineered Arts showed off one of its creations in a YouTube video in late 2021. The humanoid robot Ameca makes a series of fascinating human-like facial expressions. The Verge magazine describes this process: “At the start of the video, Ameca appears to ‘wake up,’ as its face conveys a mix of confusion and frustration when it opens its eyes. But when Ameca starts looking at its hands and arms, the robot opens its mouth and raises its brows in what it looks like is amazement. The end of the video shows Ameca smiling and holding a welcoming hand out towards the viewer – if that’s how you want to interpret that gesture.” (The Verge, 5 December 2021) However, this smile does not turn out perfectly – a problem that affects all androids. Almost every emotional movement can now be simulated well – except for the one whose expression is the smile. Only when this problem is solved will Sophia, Erica, and Ameca be able to get out of Uncanny Valley (Photo: Engineered Arts, from the YouTube Video).

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Virtual Reality for Cows?

Various media claimed in November 2019 that there would be very special experiments with cows in Russia. There are pictures circulating showing an animal wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset. This one could reduce anxiety and increase milk yield if it would show a pleasant environment – that’s at least the media’s assumption. But, according to The Verge, “it’s not at all clear whether this is a genuine trial or an elaborate marketing stunt” (The Verge, 26 November 2019). At the moment, there is hardly any evidence as to whether VR would work for cows. There is no doubt that it makes sense for humans, at least in the context of marketing. They could wear VR glasses to see a landscape with cows. They would then believe that most cows have a good life. But this good life does not exist. Cows suffer from what you do to them – some more, some less. “At the end of the day, what we can say is that someone took the time to make at least one mock-up virtual reality headset for a cow and took these pictures. We don’t need to milk the story any more than that.” (The Verge, 26 November 2019)