Congratulations to Prof. Johan Hoorn on receiving the Huibregtsen Prize 2020 with Prof. Elly Konijn of Vrije University Amsterdam, with their multidisciplinary robotics research project ‘Alice’!
The Prize established in 2005 by the board of the Foundation ‘De Avond van Wetenschap & Maatschappij’ in the Netherlands, is a competition for fundamental science with societal impact. It is aimed at recognising a recent research project that combines scientific quality and innovation with a special social added value or outreach. Prof. Hoorn and Prof. Konijn beat many other contesters including those conducting researches on COVID and malaria or nitrogen pollution.
‘Alice’ is an electromechanical grandchild with the goal to relieve loneliness and improve the quality of life of elderly by being a helping hand for care takers and a buddy to the older adult. The robot girl requires a form of interaction in which the AI system can show feeling for the user and the user gets an emotional connection with the robot. All without the robot inadvertently ending up in the 'uncanny valley', the area where people start to freak out about the machine because of too much lifelikeness.
The prize jury recognizes the work as ‘an innovative approach with an impressive result’. It is regarded as a scientific and social project ‘based on an impressive combination of disciplinary expertise and raises deep questions about possible relationships between humans and machines, but also about empathy and moral reasoning.’
The winners received a prize, consisting of €25,000, a sculpture and are offered to organize a workshop at the Lorentz Center. The award result was announced on 5 October in Haarlem, The Netherlands, witnessed by guests attended the ceremony physically and online.
- Click to watch Prof. Hoorn's previous interview HERE.
- Prof. Johan Hoorn was featured on “#WeArePolyU” last year. Let’s recap HERE.
Prof. Hoorn and his Alice:
| Topics | News | Awards | Faculty | Research | robotics | Design Research |
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