CRI听力:Emotion-reading Droid Wows Visitors to Lyon Robotics Event

The 'Innorobo', a three-day international robotics exhibition in Lyon, is being touted as Europe's only international event completely dedicated to robotics.

Catherine Simon, founder of 'Innorobo,' says the show is an opportunity for robotics experts to share ideas and innovations.

"To demonstrate to those other industries that they will have their world, their business model, their innovation transformed by technological innovation. And the robotic innovation can help us to solve societal challenges and I hope for a better world."

One of the highlights of this year's event is a new design put out by robotics firm Aldebaran.

'Pepper' is a robot designed to interact and live with human beings.

The designers have made 'Pepper' as close to cognizant as any robot has ever been.

It's able to hold conversations with people, and can even recognize and react to different emotions.

Magalie Cuvier is a marketing manager with Aldebaran.

"Pepper lives with us. So needs to understand what's going on and needs understand and to adapt to things that are going on. So the idea is that he can detect if I'm happy, if I'm sad and then act depending on that. So that you know when I'm happy he's not doing things that are not appropriate. So it's really, the reason why we want to read these emotions is to make sure the robot takes the context into account and can interactive in the best way."

There are over 200 different firms putting on exhibitions at the show in Lyon, with around 500 different robots on display from 20 different countries.

'Innorobo' founder Catherine Simon says this year's turn out is giving her high-hopes for the future of the event.

"Further exhibitors out of 140 last year so we have a great progression. As much as the robotic market is growing exponentially and we have about 500 technologies and robots demonstrating here and to 15,000 I hope, because it's the number of last year."

The 'Innorobo' event in Lyon is set to wrap up later on this Friday.

For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.