Yesterday I wrote about how robots that are meant to mimic humans do not yet really look human. Well, while that is still true, Hanson Robotics has created robots that have faces that certainly look human. What makes these robots interesting, however, isn’t just that they look human, but that they are being trained to have empathy.

Nixon from Futurama

Hanson and his mutton chops wants to create robots that can sense your mood and act accordingly. As you will see from the video at the end of this post, his robot that looks a lot like Einstein reacts to his smiles or frowns. You will also notice that the robot’s head is the only part of it that looks human. The rest looks like a robot. So basically it reminds me a lot of Nixon’s head from Futurama.

Additionally Hanson is working to bring to mass-market Zeno, a robot that is meant for children that will learn from its environment and from the children. As time passes, it will learn more and more about the habits of the people around it, and will react accordingly. Pretty incredible stuff. The 6 inch model will sell for $299, while a 18″ model will sell for $1500.

So check out the videos below – the first is a presentation Hanson gave at TED. He shows off one of his robots there. The second video is one that shows off Zeno and what it can do. Pretty awesome stuff.