Study on Face Robot Platform as a KANSEI Medium

摘要

The objective of this study is to investigate the intelligence necessary for machines such as a humanfriendly robot working in the environment where human and robot coexist. It seems to be required to manufacture the human-friendly robot that can communicate with human beings as a test bed and/or platform. Since face and facial expressions are very crucial factors for communication, we have been developing a face robot, which has a human-like face and can express facial expressions as similar as human being. The important factors of face robot for coexistence and communication with humans are 1. human size and compact, and 2. easy to control. While we have used air cylinders with pressurized air for the old face robot, to accomplish these two factors, we have decided to use a SMA (shaped memory alloy) actuators driven by electricity. In this paper, we present the prototype of SMA-actuated new face robot and show the basic ability.