Direct imitation of human facial expressions by a user-interface robot

Imitating the facial expressions of another person is a meaningful signal within interpersonal communication. Providing a robot with the capability of imitating the face of an interactant marks a first step towards implementing a communication model of mimicry. In this paper, we present a novel approach to facial expression imitation which does not require observed expressions to be assigned to a set of basic emotional expressions. Rather, arbitrary expressions are directly imitated exclusively based on camera images of the interactant's face. Consequently, the repertoire of displayable expressions is extended significantly and becomes more appropriate for interactions with humans.