Emotional Robot
// June 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // General, Science and Technology
There have been a variety of robots that emulate emotional expression through their facial features.
Researchers from Waseda University have teamed up with Kyushu-based robot manufacturer Tmsuk to develop a humanoid robot that uses its entire body to express a variety of emotions.
Named “KOBIAN,” the android integrates features of two previously developed robots — the WABIAN-2 bipedal humanoid and the WE-4RII emotion expression humanoid — into a bipedal machine that can walk around, perceive its environment, perform physical tasks, and express a range of emotions. The robot also features a new double-jointed neck that helps it achieve more expressive postures.
Surprise
KOBIAN can express seven different feelings, including delight, surprise, sadness, and dislike. In addition to assuming different poses to match the mood, the emotional humanoid uses motor in its face to move its lips, eyelids and eyebrows into various positions.
Delight
To express delight, for example, the robot lifts its soft rubbery hands over its head and opens its eyes and mouth wide.
Sadness
To show sadness, the robot slouches over, hangs its head down and holds a hand up to its face in a gesture of grief.
Dislike
According to KOBIAN’s developers, the robot’s expressiveness makes it better equipped to interact with humans and assist with daily activities. In the future, the robot may seek work in the field of nursing.
*The video shows KOBIAN cycling through a variety of stock emotional expressions. Tmsuk claims the robot’s postural emoting will make it better able to interact with humans. At least if the humans involved enjoy interacting with an emo robot. I think a future in stage performance may be more likely.
