ISR-RobotHead: Robotic head with LCD-based emotional expressiveness

Worldwide, several research works have been devoted to the development of humanoid robots for human-robot interaction (HRI). Particular attention has been paid to the concept, design and applications of robotic heads and facial-expressions. Together, head and its facial expressions, they compose a fundamental, and “familiar”, interface to end-users; which is particularly true in child-robot interaction (CRI). This paper contributes with a functional prototype of a robotic head using LCDs for eyes-eyebrows and mouth animations. The prototype also incorporates vision cameras, microphones, speakers and pan and tilt control on the vertical and horizontal axis. Experiments and validation of the robotic head were carried out at the Cerebral Palsy Association of Coimbra with children (6-10 years old). Preliminary observations show that the proposed robotic head, motivated mainly as an interface for children, can accurately convey some of the most basic emotions, whose were recognised by children. The study carried out helped to identify issues for future developments, such as specific or complex emotional states that need to be refined.