Neuro-Baby is a communication tool with its own personality and character. Through emotional modeling, it reacts to changing voices, handshake intensity, and facial expressions. Artificial neural networks allow the system to "learn" from individual human inputs and generate customized responses. A highly dynamic, spring-actuated hand interface allows Neuro-Baby to exchange realistic handshakes with its human acquaintances.
Two Neuro-Babies can be implemented on a network, and each can have a human communication partner. The Neuro-Babies' emotional states are transmitted over the network, generating appropriate actions at the remote site. Such a Networked NB's will help the mutual understanding, absorption of cultural gap asa well as international cultural exchange very much. The first result has been demonstrated in 1995, by connecting two NB's between Japan and USA.
(Naoko Tosa)