Embodied Proactive Human Interface "PICO-2"

We are conducting research on "Embodied Proactive Human Interface". The aim of this research is to develop a new human-friendly active interface based on two key technologies, an estimation mechanism of human intention for supporting natural communication named "Proactive Interface", and a tangible device using robot technology. This paper introduces the humanoid-type Two-legged robot named "PICO-2", which was developed as a tangible telecommunication device for the proactive human interface. In order to achieve the embodied telecommunication with PICO-2, we propose new tracking technique of human gestures using a monocular video camera mounted on PICO-2, and natural gesture reproduction by PICO-2 which absorbs the difference of body structure between the user and the robot.