“Mask-Bot 2i”: An active customisable robotic head with interchangeable face

Abstract

This paper describes the development of “Mask-Bot 2i” (codenamed: Kabuto), a robotic head designed for research into Human-Robot-Interactions. The uniqueness of our new robotic head is that the appearance of its face can be alter on-the-fly. Different faces can be projected onto the active head system. The head is fully active with a 3-DOF neck, with support for biannual hearing as well as video camera for seeing. An interchangeable face is the main feature of this new Mask-Bot, the head can be equipped with an average face mask as well as a highly customised individualised face that can be easily exchanged. Additionally, the actuation of the head has been designed to match the natural head movements of an average human. Thus, enabling the head and face to be articulated synchronously to the speech production while the natural head movement matches that of the animated face. The design and realisation of this new system is presented in details in this paper.