Study on new face robot platform for robot-human communication

The objective of this study is to investigate the intelligence of communication of the intelligent machine such as a human-friendly robot working in the environment where human and robot coexist. For this purpose, it seems necessary to create a human friendly robot that can communicate with human beings as a test bed and/or platform. Since the face and facial expressions are very crucial for communication, we develop a face robot which has a human-like face and can express facial expressions similar to human being. The important factors of face robot for coexistence and communication with humans are: 1) small and compact, and 2) easy to control. Air cylinders with pressurized air have previously been used for the robot's face, to accomplish these two factors. In this paper we attempt to use SMA (shaped memory alloy) actuators driven by electricity. We present the prototype of the new SMA-actuated face robot and show the typical ability that can be achieved.