Felix the robot

How does the exhibit work?

Meet Felix, our robot. He responds to your facial expressions. Test it out.

Stand on the red footsteps on the ground. Move your mouth and eyebrows. Felix the robot will mimic your facial expressions.

What is the science behind it?

Felix 'watches' with the camera in his head. His 'brain' is a computer. The computer processes the camera images and then controls the motors.

That movement is transmitted via bicycle cables, among other things, to the components in his head. So Felix can look back happy, sad, angry, surprised, annoyed and incredulous. Just like a human.

We usually like robots that look like humans, like Felix. But if a robot starts looking too much like a real human, we find it creepy. The fact that we react to robots in this way is called in science the 'uncanny valley'. How would you feel if you came across a robot that looked just like you? Creepy...

Robots at your home

Do you have a robot hoover at home? It saves your parents a lot of work. Or you, if you are called in for chores around the house.

Hmm... maybe not always. There are also some videos on Youtube of robot hoovers that have run over a dog turd 😉 .

Robots as company

Robots as company

The cutest robot? That's probably PARO, the robot seal.

PARO looks like a fluffy baby seal. Among other things, he calms people with dementia. He responds to his name by moving his head. When he wants to be petted, he makes sounds.

Robots in companies

When you have to do the same things over and over again, it is not easy to keep your attention. For example, screwing thousands of caps on bottles. Yet it has to be done in some companies. The solution? Robots! They lend a hand. They are fast, efficient and never bored.

Sometimes robots need to work together with humans in the same room. Those robots are called cobots. It is very important that they cannot hurt people. That is why cobots are often light, have no sharp edges and can 'feel' with small devices we call sensors. If you come closer, they will move more slowly or stop.

Robots at school

Playing with robots can teach you things. Like mTiny, a little robot that captures toddler hearts. mTiny always wants to discover new things. But... this mischievous robot only speaks code. So the only way to play is - you guessed it - by learning to code.