Attention control system considering the target person's attention level

In this paper, we propose an attention control system for social robots that attracts and controls the attention of a target person depending on his/her current attentional focus. The system recognizes the current task of the target person and estimates its level of focus by using the “task related behavior pattern” of the target human. The attention level is used to determine the suitable cues to attract the target person's attention toward the robot. The robot detects the interest or willingness of the target person to interact with it. Then, depending on the level of interest, the robot displays an awareness signal and shifts his/her attention to an intended goal direction.