FloBi: Say Hello to Your New Robotic Pal!

If you have been a fan of iRobot and wanted a similar one for yourself then your fantasies are about to come true! A team of researchers at Bielefeld University, Germany has been working on a robot that would be much more human like than any other robot in the human history. Surprised? Don’t be it’s true! They have even decided a name for it that is FloBi!

It’s a tough job but they are slowly progressing. The best part is that this robot won’t be something that looks like a human but the design is cartoonish making it possible to achieve human like face expressions that won’t be possible with a proper human-robot, at least for the next ten years! The researchers are sharp actually…they have created a robot that can easily change genders by simply swapping the upper layer of plastic from its body. Basically, they have used magnets and clips on the upper layer which are easier to detach and replace.
Believe it or not, this is not just some ordinary robot! Even the lip movement is so accurate (by the help of a magnetic actuator) that it will amuse you! Similar to humans, FloBi can move each and every part of its face such as its eyes, lips, nose and ears independently. And, it doesn’t even give you those dumb expressions usually robots give! This robot can express any human emotion whether it the angry face or the happy go lucky smiley face.
Let’s get technical…FloBi has a plethora of devices fitted in it! Cameras behind the eyes, LEDs under the cheeks, microphones, and many other devices are fitted under the skin of FloBi. If you are wondering what the LEDs are for under the cheeks then here’s the fun fact, the LEDs under the cheeks actually make FloBi blush! Isn’t that cool?
flobi expressions robot image
But when’s FloBi coming out? Not anytime soon! They are still working on it and they don’t plan to make it a commercial product. It will be used for studying robotic expressions and reactions towards human callings and who knows maybe one day we will have loads of FloBis around us! Till then we all should hope that FloBi remains in the best of health. Good luck FloBi!
For other amazing Robot innovation, check out the Beer Fetching Robot, REX the Robotic Exoskeleton or even the great Travel Assisting Robots.

Plasticpals