Robot Hugs People Like a Forklift? It Learned to Put an Arm Around Shoulders Within Seconds

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Germany and ETH Zurich built a robot called HuggieBot 2.0. It is 1.75 meters tall, has pressure sensors, can heat up, and can adjust its hugging strength. In the demo video, at first it hugs people like a forklift, but within a few seconds it learns to put an arm around the shoulders.

After the video was shared on Twitter, commenters were first baffled. One user said, “I thought it was an AI video.” Another thought the robot had good aesthetics, while another said, “For a moment I couldn't tell whether it was AI or a human pretending to be a robot—it's developing too fast.” The original poster also said in the comments that the robot's facial expression is not yet that natural, so at first glance it is easy to mistake it for an AI video.

Some immediately thought of Baymax from Big Hero 6:

One user said, “It's so creepy—the more I think about it, the scarier it gets.” Another said, “Watching it makes me kind of want to try it,” and someone else asked, “Can I just buy one hug?” Another user thought “practical models are more suitable for humans” and shared a different robot demo video:

A robot that can heat up and adjust its hugging strength has already appeared in public. The reactions from users are more interesting than the robot itself—suspecting it is AI, finding it creepy, and yet somewhat wanting to try it. The original poster asked, “Will we have to rely on robots even for emotional value in the future?”

No one can answer that question right away. At least for now, HuggieBot 2.0 has only learned to put an arm around the shoulders.