Children 'bond with robots'
The Courier-Mail, April 16, 2006
..... to find out what it takes for machines and humans to develop long-term relationships.
The experiment jointly run by Sony is revealing that children, with their open minds, can welcome and even develop emotions toward the robots, leading to new commercial possibilities as machines become smarter and friendlier.
Researcher Fumihide Tanaka, 33, who the dozen toddlers fondly call "IC", as in integrated circuit chip, said: "We adults tend to ask children if it is a toy or a human being, but they are free of such established categorisation....more...
