Facial expression of a robot using a curved surface display

Abstract

This paper proposes a method of robotic facial expressions using a curved surface display. A robot's face image is displayed on the curved surface screen. By using this method we can make a facial expression easily compared with other methods of mechanical facial expression. Also there is a three-dimensional effect caused by the curved surface, which is not in a plane image. We develop a face robot with a curved surface display, which is composed of a dome screen, a fish-eye lens and a projector. Also the face robot has a neck mechanism to move the head. This paper describes a composition of a dome display, a compensation of distorted image, a drawing method of shadow images with detecting a direction of a light source. The animation of facial expression and the motion using the neck mechanism are performed, and the effectiveness of the system is examined.