This project, led by Exploratorium Artist-in-Residence Catie Cuan, explores how a machine can learn to be endearing. Our robot takes the shape of a human hand, universal as a symbol of connection and tool for communication. Its joints can bend in both directions, allowing it at any moment to be a left or right hand—or neither, as it performs gestures the human hand cannot.

At the Exploratorium, the robot interacts with visitors by sensing their presence and reactions with two cameras. It drives around its playpen, gestures at people passing by, and learns how its motions evoke different emotions.

Exploratorium
San Francisco, CA