Kismet is essentially a robotic face that responds to people, created to provoke the kind of interactions a human adult and a baby might have, in the hopes that it might learn from humans in the same way that a baby does. Ironically, it is people that we learned mostly about from Kismet. Until it and another MIT robot Cog, robotics had little to do with people. “Kismet’s big triumph was that he was able to communicate a kind of emotion and sociability that humans did indeed respond to, in kind. The robot and the humans were in a kind of partnership for learning.”

Now, Cynthia Breazeal is working on her latest robot, Leonardo. The lovable, furry Leonardo is a quantum leap beyond Kismet, thanks in part to her collaboration with Stan Winston, a legend in Hollywood special effects and the creator of “Teddy” in the Kubrick/Spielberg movie A.I. Leonardo’s 32 motors in the face enable it to achieve near-human facial expressions and near-human lip synchronization, as seen in this video. Other videos show the robot tracking a yellow ball with its eyes and responding to touch anywhere on its body.

All I can say is…my God…this so cool.