Development of a Head for Bipedal Humanoid Robot Capable of High Facial Expression Ability with Big Range of Movement of Facial Region and Facial Color

Abstract

This paper describes a development of new expressive robotic head for bipedal humanoid robot. In order to obtain the representative facial expressions, the authors asked cartoonists to create computer graphics (CG) images. To realize the most representative facial expressions from the CGs, 24-Degrees-of-Freedoms(DoFs) facial expression mechanism was needed. Some of the CGs also required wide movable range of face parts, as well as ability to control color of the face. We designed compact mechanisms and mounted them in the outer case not bigger than the size of average adult Japanese female. We conducted a questionnaire with pictures and videos to evaluate the facial expression ability. The results proved that facial expression recognition rates for 6 basic emotions were significantly increased in new design.