JPH06261982A - Communication robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a communication robot capable of making expression proper to a human being. CONSTITUTION:A face portion 1 has the organs such as the eyeballs, eyelids, lower jaw, etc., and the whole surface is covered with a rubber film. The respective organs are driven by an electromagnetic motor 2 and cylinders 4, 5 built in a neck portion 50. Total 18 flexible microactuators 20K, 20L, 20M, 20O, 20P, 20Q, etc., are placed in the face portion so that the expression of the face is freely changed by pressing the rubber film against the organs and pulling the same.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication robot capable of expressing necessary information by changing facial expressions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, especially in the field of amusement, a method has been used in which a communication robot having a human face is used to move the eyes and mouth of the humanoid robot so that the human being feels intimate. There is. One example of such a method is US Pat.
Specific examples are described in the specification of No. 7,589.

However, the above-mentioned conventional communication robots are only for driving organs such as human eyes and mouths. For this reason, although it is familiar to humans, the "coldness" peculiar to machines still remains.

Further, in anticipation of an era in which such robots will take care of humans in the future, a communication robot that is closer to humans and that is familiar to them is required.

[0005]

As described above, the conventional communication robot only drives the human eyes and mouth, and the "coldness" peculiar to the machine still remains. There is. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication robot that is closer to human beings and has a familiar feel.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a face portion having an artificial skin coated on the surface thereof and having an organ, and a first portion for driving the organ.
And a second drive unit made of an elastic body that is connected to the skin and displaces each part of the skin.

[0007]

With the communication robot configured as described above, not only the human eyes and mouth are driven, but also the artificial skin is pulled or pushed to displace, thereby creating a facial expression peculiar to humans. Is possible. Further, since the driving means made of an elastic body is used as the actuator (second driving means) for producing the facial expression, the facial expression does not change instantly but changes slowly, so that it is closer to human motion. Will be things.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are a side view and a front view showing an internal structure of a face part of a communication robot according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are side views showing an internal structure of a face part and a neck part of the robot. It is a front view.

First, each drive system for performing the basic operation of the communication robot will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The communication robot 100 is roughly divided into a face portion 1 and a neck portion 50, and a device for driving the entire face portion 1 is built inside the neck portion 50.

An electromagnetic motor 2 and a support pillar 7 are fixed to the base portion 6. Here, the support pillar 7 is the base portion 6
On the other hand, it is for supporting the face portion 1, and is connected to the end of the face portion 1 so as to be rotatable about the Z2 axis. On the other hand, the electromagnetic motor 2 has a face portion 1 and a neck portion.
Rotate 50 around Z1 axis.

At the top of the electromagnetic motor 2, a cylinder 3 is arranged at the front and cylinders 4, 5 are arranged at the left and right, respectively, and one ends of the cylinders 3, 4, 5 are rotatably connected to the rotary shaft of the electromagnetic motor 2. ing. The other end of each cylinder 3, 4, 5 is rotatably connected to the end of the face portion 1. Both ends of the cylinders 4 and 5 are connected to rotate about an axis parallel to the Z2 axis, and both ends of the cylinder 3 are connected to rotate about a Z3 axis orthogonal to the Z1 axis and the Z2 axis. Therefore, the cylinder 3 drives the face portion 1 to rotate about the Z2 axis, and the cylinders 4 and 5 drive the face portion 1 to rotate about the Z3 axis.

According to the drive system constructed as described above, the rightward and leftward movements of a person are performed by controlling the rotation angle of the electromagnetic motor 2. Further, by controlling the amount of expansion and contraction of the cylinder 3, the human being performs upward and downward movements, and by controlling the amount of expansion and contraction of the cylinders 4 and 5, the human tilting movement is performed. That is, the basic operation performed by the human neck can be realized by the above drive system.

Next, the internal structure of the face portion 1 will be described. On the face portion 1, five electromagnetic motors 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 which are first driving means are arranged. The electromagnetic motor 8 is arranged in the throat and rotates the lower jaw 13 about the axis 13a. The electromagnetic motors 9 and 10 are arranged in the upper jaw and rotate the eyeballs 14 and 15 left and right. Similarly, the electromagnetic motors 11 and 12 are arranged at the top of the head and rotate the eyeballs 14 and 15 up and down. Eyeball
The gimbal structure is adopted for 14,15 so that it can rotate around two orthogonal axes. These electromagnetic motors 8,9,
10, 11 and 12 are driven so as to control the length of the wire extending from the rotation axis, and perform the opening / closing operation of the human mouth and the changing operation of the line of sight.

Further, a total of 18 flexible microactuators (hereinafter referred to as FMA) 20A to 20R, which are second driving means, are incorporated in the face portion 1. These FMAs are arranged in the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and extend and relax each part of the skin of the face so as to change the facial expression of the human face, as will be described later. The FMA is an actuator which is entirely formed of an elastic material such as silicon rubber and is displaced and driven in the longitudinal direction by adjusting the pressure of a fluid. The basic structure of the FMA is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-247809.
Since the details are disclosed in No. 1, the description is omitted here.

Although not shown here, the surface of the face portion 1 is covered with a rubber coating (artificial skin) having a wall thickness of about 1 to 5 mm. The contour of the face is molded by means of, for example, molding with silicone rubber casting. Fibers and their composite materials can also be used to increase the strength and durability of the rubber coating. The rubber coating thus produced plays the role of human skin and is stretched and coated on the surface of a metal skeleton. Then, the communication robot of the present invention is used for expression generation.

Next, the role of each FMA 20A-20R will be described. The FMAs 20A, 20B, 20E, 20F are arranged on the upper right side of the face portion 1, and these are for changing the periphery of the right eyebrow. Further, the FMAs 20C, 20D, 20G, 20H are arranged above the left side of the face portion 1, and these are for changing the periphery of the left eyebrow. As shown in FIG. 3, each FMA is fixed with its longitudinal direction facing the front-back direction of the face, and is displaced in this longitudinal direction.

The FMAs 20I and 20J are placed just above both eyes 14 and 15 and these are for changing the degree of opening and closing of the left and right eyelids. Similarly, these FMAs are also fixed with their longitudinal directions facing the front-back direction of the face, and are displaced in this longitudinal direction.

The FMAs 20K, 20L, 20N, 20O, 20P, 20Q and 20R are arranged in the central portion of the face portion 1 and the lower jaw portion, and these are for changing the upper and lower lip periphery. These FMAs are fixed with their longitudinal directions facing the labial direction, and are displaced in this longitudinal direction. Since the lower jaw 13 is rotationally driven by the electromagnetic motor 8 as described above, the FMA 20N, 20O, 20P, 20Q, 20R also moves accordingly.

Next, the basic operation of the FMA in the present application will be described. There are two basic operations that each of the FMAs 20A to 20R described above performs on the rubber coating. One is to directly press the FMA against the rubber coating, and the other is to connect the FMA and the rubber coating with a wire to form the rubber coating. This is an attracting action. The former method is used for FMA that opens and closes the eyelids.
20I, 20J, FMA20R that lifts the lower lip, and FMA20M that lifts the nose. Also, the other 14 F
MA uses the latter method.

The basic operation of the FMA will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged side views of the face portion 1 near the eyes and mouth. First, the operation of pressing the FMA against the rubber coating will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the FMA 20I (20J) that opens and closes the eyelid 21 will be described as an example.

The FMA 20I is housed in a cylindrical storage guide 16, and one end portion shown by hatching in the figure is fixed to the storage guide 16 via a fixing member 17. On the other hand, a cap 18 is fixed to the other end of the FMA20I, and a universal joint is attached to the tip of the cap 18.
19a is fixed. Here, the cap 18 is FMA20.
It is made of a material having a good self-lubricating property such as Teflon (trade name) so that I can smoothly move in the longitudinal direction in the storage guide 16.

The eyeball 14 (15) is rotatably supported around the shaft 14a, and at the same time, the eyelid 21 is also rotatably supported around the shaft 14a. A universal joint 19b is fixed to one end of the eyelid 21, and is linked to the universal joint 19a by a link 22. The other end of the eyelid 22 is joined to a rubber coating, which is not shown here.

When air is sent from the air feeding tube 23 in such a structure, the FMA 20I is pressurized and extends in the direction of the arrow. Then, the extension amount of FMA22I is transmitted to the link 22 and acts on the eyelid 21. In other words, if the FMA22I extends, the degree of closing of the eyelid 21 increases. Also, if air is released from the air supply tube 23 and the FMA20I is opened to atmospheric pressure, the FM
A20I is decompressed and contracts in the direction opposite to the arrow. FMA20I
If is reduced, the degree of opening of the eyelid 21 increases.

Next, the operation of the FMA to attract the rubber coating will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FMA20K, 20L, 20N, 20O, 20P, 20Q, 20 for changing the upper and lower lip area
Although R is shown in the figure, all operations are the same, so FMA
20K (20L) will be described as an example. Moreover, the same components as those in FIG.

A cap fixed to one end of the FMA20K
One end of a wire 24a is connected to 18 and is extended toward the other end of the FMA 20K. On the other hand, a wire 24b, one end of which is connected by a silicon bond 27, is arranged on the rubber coating corresponding to the upper right side of the lips and stretched in the FMA20K direction. These wires 24a, 24b are connected by a hook 25. In addition, a pulley 26 is provided near the fixing member 17.
Is arranged and the wire 24a is wound.

When air is sent from the air feeding tube 23 in such a structure, the FMA 20K is pressurized and extends in the direction of the arrow. Then, depending on the amount of elongation of FMA20K, the wire 24
a is pulled and acts on the lips via the hook 25 and the wire 24b. In other words, as FMA20K stretches, the degree to which the lips are pulled increases. Further, if air is released from the air supply tube 23 and the FMA 20K is opened to the atmospheric pressure, the FMA 20K is decompressed and contracts in the direction opposite to the arrow. If the FMA20K shrinks, the elastic restoring force of the rubber coating pulls the lips less and the mouth returns to its original shape.

The FMA20N (20O) and 20P (20Q) are also FM
The same operation as A20K (20L) is performed, and the rubber coating corresponding to each part of the lips is pulled. Also, FMA20M
The structure is such that the rubber coating near the nose is lifted directly.

Although not shown here, the tube 23 communicating with each FMA is connected to a pressure source via a pressure control valve, and each FMA is freely displaced by controlling the opening / closing amount of this pressure control valve. It is possible to

7 to 10 are face deformation patterns expressed by the communication robot 100 of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows an expressionless state, which is the same as the molding state of a face in which neither FMA is driven, that is, a rubber coating. If this face is the initial facial expression of the robot 100, a total of 18 patterns shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 can be expressed. The symbols shown in the figure correspond to the symbols of FMA. For example, "A" in FIG.
It is a deformation pattern obtained when “” is driven.

By appropriately combining these 18 patterns in total, it is possible to generate the six types of facial expressions shown in FIG. These correspond to the basic human facial expressions of "surprise,""fear,""disgust,""anger,""joy," and "sadness." Further, by further compounding these facial expressions, it is possible to express more complex human emotional expressions. These facial expressions are performed by driving the required FMA according to a command from a computer connected to the robot.

FIG. 12 specifically shows the FMA that is driven to generate these six types of facial expressions. In addition, in the expression of "fear"
It is sufficient to drive only 20N and 20O, but when the amount of deformation is small, it is preferable to drive 20K, 20L, 20P and 20Q.

By appropriately controlling the displacement amount of each FMA, it is possible to express the expression more finely. Of course, the same effect can be expected by using an elastic body driving means other than FMA.

In the present invention as described above, an FMA, which is an elastic actuator, is used to generate a facial expression. Generally, the facial expression of a human face is gradually deformed from the initial state, and the facial expression does not change mechanically instantaneously. When an actuator made of an elastic body (having an elastic body as a main component) is used as in the present invention, the facial expression can be slowly changed unlike the case where a stepping motor or the like is used. Can be one. In particular, when the communication robot having such a form is used for caring for a human or the like, it also contributes to alleviate the fear of the patient.

The applications of the present invention include not only nursing robots but also amusement robots, guide robots, sign language robots, and the like. Further, by using the communication robot of the present invention as a kind of man-machine interface for transmitting information from a computer to a human, a more user-friendly computer environment can be constructed. It can also be used for psychological research.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, a facial expression peculiar to a human can be created. Further, since the driving means made of an elastic body is used as an actuator for creating a facial expression, it is more similar to the motion of a human.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an internal structure of a face portion and a neck portion of a communication robot of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an internal structure of a face portion and a neck portion of the communication robot of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the internal structure of the face portion of the communication robot of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the internal structure of the face portion of the communication robot of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view near the eyes of the communication robot of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of the mouth of the communication robot of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an expressionless face.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing how a face is changed according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing how a face is changed according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how a face is changed according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a basic facial expression represented by the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an FMA for generating the facial expression shown in FIG.
The figure which shows the drive method of.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... face part 2,8,9,10,11,12 ... electromagnetic motor 3,4,5, cylinder 6 ... base part 7 ... support pillar 13 ... lower jaw 14,15 ... eyeball 16 ... storage guide 17 ... fixing member 18 … Cap 19… Universal joint 20… Flexible microactuator 21… Eyelid 22… Link 23… Air supply tube 24… Wire 25… Hook 50… Neck 100… Communication robot

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An elastic body having a surface covered with artificial skin and having an organ, a first driving means for driving the organ, and a displacement of each part of the skin connected to the skin. And a second driving means including the following. 2. The second drive means is driven by pressure adjustment by a fluid.
Communication robot described.