Furhat

Furhat is a back-projected humanoid social robot developed by the Swedish company Furhat Robotics. It is used to facilitate face-to-face interaction between humans and AI by employing a combination of projection technology, speech capabilities, and simulated social behaviors to mimic lifelike conversations. It has been deployed in sectors including education, healthcare, recruitment, and transport, and has been used in studies of social robotics at several universities.

Design and features

Furhat consists of a 3D-printed humanoid bust with a translucent mask.Reuters. 'Furhat, a robot with the human touch, wants to hear your woes.' https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-robotics-idUSKCN1NX0U2 Facial expressions are back-projected onto this mask, allowing for the robot to change personas and emotional expressions without mechanical actuators. The robot can communicate through facial expressions, head movements, eye gaze, and eyebrow raising. It is also equipped with computer vision for face tracking and can analyze the expressions of and interact with up to ten people simultaneously.

The robot has a human-like neck design and can mimic human head movement. It includes a 135-degree field-of-view camera, stereo microphones, and a speaker. These features can detect user gaze, speech, and proximity. Its software platform supports speech recognition and synthesis in over 30 languages and developers can build conversational flows using a no-code orSoftware Development Kit (SDK) interface.

Furhat's design was the subject of research into socially intelligent robots, particularly in terms of its adaptability and ability to simulate eye contact, emotional responses, and group engagement. Subsequent studies explored design adaptation for personalization that might support Furhat's use and efficiency in educational and service contexts.

Software and integration

Furhat is used for prototype and application development, with researchers and developers able to update Furhat's code to test out verbal and non-verbal features. The robot operates using a modular software platform supported by an official SDK and developer tools provided by Furhat Robotics. Developers can build applications using a domain-specific language based on Kotlin, with built-in support for dialogue flows, intent recognition, and multimodal interaction. The SDK includes a simulator that mirrors the robot's behavior and facial animations, allowing for local testing before deployment. Furhat also provides a Remote API compatible with Python, C#, and JavaScript, enabling control of the robot from external systems over a network. Applications can be developed using integrated development environments such as IntelliJ IDEA and integrated with third-party services such as Amazon Polly and ElevenLabs. Furhat can also be integrated with generative AI models such as OpenAI's GPT-3.5. for creating conversational flows.

Applications

Furhat featured at Bucharest Tech Week 2019 and has been used as a museum guide, for concierge services, and in other public engagement contexts. Furhat has also been incorporated in healthcare trials, with applications in autism therapy
Aida Amir, Nurziya Oralbayeva, Nurbanu Zhenissova, Zhansaule Telisheva, Aida Zhanatkyzy, Ilyas Issa, Alina Kontorbayeva, Sultan Kuat, Aizhan Yermek, and Anara Sandygulova. "Robot-assisted Social Narratives for Children with Diverse Developmental Conditions: A Pilot Study." In: ''2024 IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)'', August 26–30, 2024, Pasadena, California, USA. IEEE, 2024. DOI: 0.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731429https://doi.org/10.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731429)
and mental health assessment. The most extensive application of the robot has been as a platform for academic research in human-robot interaction. Furhat has been used at:

* KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) – early work in multimodal interaction and facial animation.
* TU Graz (Austria) – natural language conversation and dialogue systems.
* UK National Robotarium, Heriot-Watt University (UK) – research into conversational AI and human-robot interaction, including a public demonstrations as a GPT-powered receptionist, and a conversational robot used in a housing complex for older residents.
* University of Manchester (UK) – research in cognitive robotics and healthcare communication.
* University of Twente (Netherlands) – studies on bias and ethnic representation in human-robot interaction.

Named deployments

Several Furhat-based robots have been used in applied settings. Examples include:

* Tengai – Developed with the Swedish recruitment firm TNG, Tengai is a Furhat-based robot used in structured interview settings to reduce bias. It uses the Furhat platform but has a distinct personality and dialogue model tailored for recruitment.
* SEMMI – A multilingual travel assistant robot installed by Deutsche Bahn at German train stations. It engages with travelers in multiple languages and provides transportation services and travel advice.
* FRAnny – A localized version of SEMMI deployed at Frankfurt Airport. FRAnny provides personalized assistance and acts as concierge.

* PETRA – A conversational health-screening robot developed by Furhat Robotics, the Merck Group, and the design agency Prototyp. PETRA conducts pre-screening interactions with users to detect signs of diseases such as psoriasis and depression.

*Basil – A robotic barista employed in an old-age home to study human-robot interaction with older adults.
*BRILLO – A robotic architecture developed by researchers at the University of Naples that uses the Furhat head in combination with other robotic elements for bar-tending.

Public reception

Heba Soffar of ''Science Online'' wrote that Furhat's mechanical abilities were limited by its lack of limbs and mobility and that its cost was higher compared to other social robots. Other commentators noted that hyperrealistic features—such as simulated empathy and personalized dialogue—may raise ethical concerns, particularly in emotionally sensitive contexts like hiring and healthcare.Hern, Alex. Ghost in the machine: the robot that can understand emotion. The Guardian, 16 April 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2018/apr/16/ghost-in-the-machine-the-robot-that-can-understand-emotion Studies have linked these reactions to the 'uncanny valley' effect. Opinion is divided about whether Furhat succeeds to evade the "uncanny valley" effect, or whether users find it unsettling to engage with it. These discussions align with wider debates in AI ethics around transparency, overtrust, and anthropomorphism in social robots.

In popular culture

Furhat has been featured in various media and demonstration settings that lean into popular culture. In one research study, the robot was programmed to display the face of former U.S. President Barack Obama as part of an experiment on non-verbal behavior.

Furhat was featured as the central character in Arise Amazons, a feminist theatre production staged at Orionteatern in Stockholm. The performance, directed by Karin Victorin, integrated Furhat as a speaking, emotive robotic head interacting with both performers and audience members. Described as a robot "driven by its desire for a body", Furhat was presented in a symbolic narrative exploring themes of embodiment, gender, and posthuman identity through live performance involving opera singers, dancers, drag artists, and horses. The production forms the subject of Victorin's master's thesis on social robotics and feminist technoscience.Karin Victorin (2020). ''Practically Human: Performing Social Robots and Feminist Aspects on Agency, Body and Gender''. Linköping University
Open access PDF
/ref>Ada Fredelius (15 November 2018). "Roboten tar plats vid teatern". ''Ny Teknik''

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In 2019, Furhat Robotics partnered with Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bandai Namco to develop a Furhat-based version of Mirai Komachi, a Japanese virtual pop idol.

The robot was used in amusement parks and entertainment venues in Japan, merging anime aesthetics with social robotics to explore new forms of character embodiment and fan engagement. Furhat has also been interviewed on ''The Millennial Way Show'' and mentioned in an episode of ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' that explored the ethical and social implications of AI.

See also

* Furhat Robotics
* Social robot
* Human-robot interaction
* Humanoid robot
* Embodied conversational agent
* Artificial intelligence in healthcare

References

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Social robots