Identity Emulation (IE) Bio-inspired Facial Expression Interfaces for Emotive Robots

Abstract

Our facial expression robots use biomimetic structures, aesthetic design principles, and recent breakthroughs in elastomer material sciences to enact a sizable range of natural humanlike facial expressions. Applications of this class of human-robot interface devices will rise in relevance as humans and robots begin to have more sociable encounters in the coming years. The Identity Emulation project also seeks to imbue these robots with several forms of interactive intelligence, including human-form and facial-expression recognition, and natural language interaction. It is anticipated that a multi-modal integration of mechanics, sociable intelligence, and design aesthetics will yield the most effective Human Computer Interface robots. 1.