Want to build a robot that gives great hugs?

You can do it now if you follow the rules!

This is research by Alexis E. Block and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker from the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, on teaching robots to give good hugs.

In case you don’t know, “haptic” means “touching” and is the word used when referring to human touch interactions with machines.

Personally, I don’t think a robot will ever beat my mom’s hugs…

The 11 Commandments of Hugging Robots How to build a humanoid that gives perfect hugs