A humanoid robot called Abel is being developed to help recognize and react to human emotions. Researchers from Pisa University in Italy hope that one day Abel will be able to become a home help for people with autism and Alzheimer’s. Abel has the appearance of a 12 year old boy.

Its age, facial features and physical build were chosen to improve the robot’s ‘relational potential’. “The project, Abel, started as a peculiar cooperation between technicians and artists,” says Lorenzo Cominelli, researcher at the Centro Enrico Piaggio. “The bioengineers from the research centre, Enrico Piaggio, at the Pisa University and Gustav Hoegen from Biomimic in London with the goal to create a humanoid robot which is also a hub to study human emotions and interactions,”