A robotic doll designed to move and play recorded chimpanzee noises from a speaker in its chest was getting a lot of attention from chimps living at the Yerkes National Primate Center in Georgia.
A robotic doll designed to move and play recorded chimpanzee noises from a speaker in its chest was getting a lot of attention from chimps living at the Yerkes National Primate Center in Georgia.
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth put together a study to see how the 16 chimpanzee subjects would react to the robot, which they constructed out of a plastic children’s doll and named Robota.
When the animals heard Robota make familiar chimp-like noises, they tried to respond by talking back to it, and some of them banged on their cages as an invitation for Robota to play and interact with them.
Two of the chimp subjects tried to share their toys with Robota.
The chimpanzees reportedly paid more attention to the robot when it was making apelike movements and gestures then when it made movements that seemed human.
Other animals like dogs and cats have also been observed interacting with robots as if they were alive.
Some studies have even shown that robotic pets can be more enjoyable and engaging than live animals for elderly people.
What do you think about how the chimpanzees reacted to the robot?
