Sobots - Robots with emotions

I read recently in a newspaper about 'Sobots' - Robots with emotions. I hadn't heard it anywhere else, so I just forgot about it.

Until today. The article is not yet online, so I suppose I'll have to type it up...

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Get ready for the rise of the romantic robots

The arrival of intelligent robots that can read, learn and even breed is a step closer. Kim Jong-hwan, a professor at South Korea's Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, unveiled software which he said creates 14 artificial chromosomes.

In a development that redefines the term "cyber sex", the software will give machines the ability to feel, reason and desire according to Mr, Kim. The code is modelled on human DNA, although as a single rather than the complex double helix of a real chromosome.

Because these robots would be software-based, the researchers refer to them as 'sobots'. In tests carried out by researchers, the chromosomes caused different reactions to external stimuli in the software.

Mr. Kim said this could lead to the robots breeding and thus evolving. He said robots would also have personalities.

Mr. Kim is the creator of the robot world cup, which has becoma a popular forum for robotics researchers to measure their progress against competitors from around the world. He said that because of the possible evolution of sobots, he believed it better to provide them with good, soft chromosomes, so they don't develop into a threat to humanity.

The software will be installed on a robot within three months.

Article taken from Computer Active (issue 183). It should be online (www.computeractive.co.uk) after the 17th of Feb.

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The article I read in the newspaper can be found at http://comment.independent.co.uk/col...p?story=607527