Robotic Facial Expression Using a Curved Surface Display

Abstract

We propose robotic facial expression using a curved surface display. An image of the robot’s face is displayed on a curved screen to form a facial expression easily compared to other mechanical facial expression. The curved surface gives the face a three-dimensional effect due to not possible using a plane image. The curved surface display consists of a domed screen, a fish-eye lens, and a projector. The face robot has a neck to move the head. We detail the domed display, compensation for image distortion, and the drawing of shadow images indicating the direction of a light source. The facial expression is animated and the head moves using the neck conducted. Experiments confirmed the effectiveness of our proposal.