Smile And Robot Smiles With You

From Sky News:

British scientists have come up with the first robot that can mimic a person's expressions simply by watching their face.


Jules, the robot with the human face
Humanoid 'Jules' is a disembodied androgynous robotic head that automatically copies the movement and expressions of a human face. The technology works using 10 stock human emotions - for instance happiness, sadness, concern - that have been programmed into the robot. The software then maps what it sees to Jules' face to combine expressions instantly to mimic those being shown by a human subject. Controlled only by its own software, Jules can grin and grimace, furrow its brow, and 'speak' as the software translates real expressions observed through video camera 'eyes'.

More.

Fail better

Thanks to Charlie Stern for this too:

What makes a good writer? Is writing an expression of self, or, as TS Eliot argued, 'an escape from personality'? Do novelists have a duty? Do readers? Why are there so few truly great novels? Zadie Smith on literature's legacy of honourable failure

Zadie Smith
Published Saturday January 13, 2007 in The Guardian

More.

Labours of love

The Guardian, Saturday February 2 2008

It takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a skilled carpenter or musician - but what makes a true master? Richard Sennett on the craftsman in us all.

Rives: A 3-minute story of mixed emoticons

Thanks to Willow for this reference.