Robots that can understand grief or happiness or anger, could soon become a reality with technology currently being developed by Felix Growing.

According to the company, software will allow the robot to learn when a person is feeling a certain way. Using cameras and sensors, the robots will be able to detect several variables from the human including their facial expression, voice, and tone. It will then combine the factors to determine what mood the person is in.

The ability to detect emotions in humans will be a huge step towards robots becoming fully integrated into the everyday environment of humans, in order to provide services such as company, care-giving, entertainment, patient monitoring and to work as aids in therapy.

A statement from Feelix Growing, explained: “We expect to have a significant impact on the scientific community, on two grounds. On the one hand, our research focus poses an important and as-yet largely unexplored scientific question that is increasingly recognised as a keystone in the development of human-orientated social technology and in the understanding of humans, and can contribute to the advancement of entertainment, developmental, science, and rehabilitation robotics.”