KR101155424B1 - Apparatus and method of android robot for expressing emotion using skin color change and computer readable medium recording program for performing the methdo - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for expressing emotion of an android robot using skin color change and a computer readable medium recording a program for performing the same. A skin color controller that receives emotion data from a host controller and generates light emission data for adjusting the light emission color according to the received emotion data, an LED drive driver operating according to the light emission data generated by the skin color controller, and facial skin tissue It is installed inside of, and configures the emotion expression device of the android robot using a skin color change including an LED module that is driven by the LED driving driver to emit light. According to the above-described apparatus and method for expressing the emotion of an android robot using the skin color change described above and a computer-readable medium recording a program for performing the same, the LED module can express the facial skin color of the android robot in various ways, thereby changing the face according to the emotion change. By changing the skin color momentarily, it is possible to realistically express the change of emotion. On the other hand, by diffusing the LED light through the light guide plate, the reflecting plate and the diffusion sheet, there is an effect that can be expressed more light skin color.

LED, glow, emotion, color, android, robot, diode, color controller

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD OF ANDROID ROBOT FOR EXPRESSING EMOTION USING SKIN COLOR CHANGE AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM RECORDING PROGRAM FOR PERFORMING THE METHDO}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for expressing an emotion of an android robot and a computer readable medium recording a program for performing the same, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for expressing the emotion of an android robot using skin color changes and a program for performing the same. A computer readable medium.

Attempts are being made to create robots that mimic human forms and behaviors. However, attempts to express human emotions through robots are still very weak. Conventional robots only display a change in facial expressions such as an emoticon through the LCD screen attached to the body.

The robot that most closely resembles the human form right now is the Android robot. Android robots have almost the same exoskeleton and skin color as humans. And they can express and change gestures that are almost similar to humans. Android robots use motors to create facial expressions by moving facial skin tissues such as eyes, nose and mouth.

On the other hand, such facial skin tissue is composed of silicone, etc., the silicone is added to the color tone approximating the human skin color, and looks like human skin. However, in humans, the skin color changes according to the emotion change, while in the android robot, only the fixed skin color according to the colorant is expressed. In other words, the Android robot can change the facial expression according to the change of emotion, but cannot change the skin color according to the change of the emotion.

An object of the present invention is to provide an emotion expression device of an android robot using the skin color change.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for expressing emotion of an android robot using skin color change.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a computer readable medium recording a program for performing an emotion expression method of an android robot using skin color change.

The emotion expression apparatus of the android robot using the skin color change for achieving the above object of the present invention, the skin color controller for receiving the emotion data from the host controller, and generates the emission data for adjusting the emission color according to the received emotion data; It may be configured to include an LED driving driver operating according to the light emission data generated by the skin color controller, and an LED module installed inside the facial skin tissue and driven by the LED driving driver to emit light. Here, the light guide plate is provided adjacent to the inside of the facial skin tissue, and distributes the light of the LED module to the inside of the facial skin tissue, and the light is provided adjacent to the lower portion of the light guide plate, and distributed through the light guide plate It may be configured to further include a reflector to reflect the facial skin tissue. And a diffusion sheet disposed between the face skin tissue and the light guide plate to uniformly diffuse the reflected light to the outside of the face skin tissue. In this case, the LED module may be configured to include a light emitting diode that emits red light, green light, and blue light, respectively. The emission data may be configured such that a ratio of red light, green light, and blue light is set differently according to the received emotion data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of expressing an emotion of an android robot using skin color change, wherein the skin color controller receives emotion data from a host controller, and the skin color controller emits light according to the received emotion data. Generating luminescence data for adjustment, driving an LED module in accordance with the generated luminescence data, and driving the LED module by the LED driving driver to emit light. Can be.

In a computer-readable medium that records a program for performing the emotion expression method of the Android robot using the skin color change to achieve the above object of the present invention, the skin color controller receives the emotion data from the host controller, and Generating a light emission data for adjusting a light emission color according to the received emotion data by a skin color controller; driving an LED module according to the generated light emission data; and driving the LED module by the LED drive driver. A program for executing the step of driving by and emitting light can be recorded.

According to the apparatus and method for expressing the emotion of the Android robot using the skin color change as described above, and a computer-readable medium recording a program for performing the same, the LED module can be used to express the facial skin color of the Android robot in various ways. As a result, the facial skin color is changed from time to time to realistically express the change in emotion. On the other hand, by diffusing the LED light through the light guide plate, the reflecting plate and the diffusion sheet, there is an effect that can be expressed more light skin color.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The terms first, second, A, B, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be briefly described.

The emotion expression apparatus of the android robot using the skin color change according to the present invention includes a skin color controller that receives emotion data from a host controller and generates light emission data for adjusting emission color according to the received emotion data, and by the skin color controller. It may be configured to include an LED driving driver that operates according to the generated light emission data, and an LED module installed inside the facial skin tissue and driven by the LED driving driver to emit light. Here, the light guide plate is provided adjacent to the inside of the facial skin tissue, and distributes the light of the LED module to the inside of the facial skin tissue, and the light is provided adjacent to the lower portion of the light guide plate, and distributed through the light guide plate It may be configured to further include a reflector to reflect the facial skin tissue. And a diffusion sheet disposed between the face skin tissue and the light guide plate to uniformly diffuse the reflected light to the outside of the face skin tissue. In this case, the LED module may be configured to include a light emitting diode that emits red light, green light, and blue light, respectively. The emission data may be configured such that a ratio of red light, green light, and blue light is set differently according to the received emotion data.

In the emotion expression method of the android robot using the skin color change according to the present invention, the skin color controller receives the emotion data from the host controller, and the skin color controller generates light emission data for adjusting the emission color according to the received emotion data. And driving the LED module according to the generated light emission data, and driving the LED module by the LED driving driver to emit light.

In a computer-readable medium that records a program for performing a method of expressing an emotion of an android robot using skin color change according to the present invention, a skin color controller receives emotion data from a host controller, and the skin color controller receives the received emotion data. Generating light emission data for adjusting the light emission color, driving the LED module according to the generated light emission data, and driving the LED module by the LED driving driver to emit light. The program for execution can be recorded.

Here, the Android robot will be described first. The android robot may include a host processor, various driving units, and skin tissue. The host processor is the brain of the Android robot, and is responsible for the overall control of the Android robot. Various driving units directly control various movements such as changes in facial expressions as well as driving the arms and legs of the Android robot. The various drives may be composed of a controller and a motor under control thereof. On the other hand, the skin tissue may be composed of silicon or a rubber (frubber). Skin tissue may be added with a colorant similar to human skin color.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a device for expressing emotion of an android robot using skin color change according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the emotion expression apparatus 100 of an android robot may be configured to include a skin color controller 110, an LED driving driver 120, and an LED module 130. In this case, the emotion expression apparatus 100 of the android robot is provided inside the facial skin tissue 300.

Here, the emotion expression apparatus 100 of the android robot is a kind of driving unit that freely changes the facial skin color of the android robot. The emotion expression apparatus 100 of the android robot may express various skin color changes through the LED module 130 provided inside the facial skin tissue 300 to realistically express skin color that changes according to human emotion. That is, the emotion expression device 100 of the Android robot can express a more emotional change in the expression of human emotion. Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the emotion expression apparatus 100 will be described in more detail.

First, the skin color controller 110 may be configured to receive emotion data from the host controller 200 and generate light emission data for adjusting the emission color according to the received emotion data. Here, the skin color controller 110 may be regarded as a kind of controller provided in a driving unit called the emotion expression device 100 of the android robot. The skin color controller 110 is preferably provided inside the head to be close to the facial skin tissue of the Android robot. On the other hand, the host controller 200 is a configuration for controlling the movement, the horse, the state of the Android robot as a whole. The host controller 200 may be configured as a personal computer. In this case, the host controller 200 may be remotely controlled by the user through an operator (not shown) outside the Android robot, and human emotion data (eg, anger, joy, sadness, etc.) may also be an operator (not shown). It can be configured to be input via). As mentioned above, the skin color controller 110 receives such emotion data from the host controller 200 and generates light emission data corresponding thereto. That is, when receiving the emotion data of 'angry', the light emission data for generating the skin color corresponding to the emotion data of 'angry' is generated. Such light emission data may be composed of, for example, a combination of data of red light 100%, green light 0%, and blue light 0%. Also, by adjusting the ratio of red light according to the degree of anger, it is possible to generate light emission data divided into approximately 100 steps. The emission data may be mapped in advance according to the received emotion data, and the connection relationship may be configured to be stored in advance in a predetermined emission data DB (not shown). That is, the skin color controller 110 may be configured to query the light emission data DB (not shown) to read and use the light emission data mapped to the emotion data. Meanwhile, Table 1 below schematically shows light emission data mapped to various emotion data.

Emotion data
Emission data Red light Green light Blue light aggro 100% 0% 0% pallor 0% 0% 100% Casualness 30% 30% 30% pleasure 80% 80% 80%

As shown in Table 1, the light emission data may be configured such that a ratio of red light, green light, and blue light is set differently according to the received emotion data. Accordingly, the emotion of the seal can be expressed with 1000000 colors and brightness by the combination of the red light, the green light, and the blue light of 100 steps.

Next, the LED driving driver 120 may be configured to operate according to the light emission data generated by the skin color controller 110. The LED driving driver 120 is a driving driver for driving the LED module 130. The LED driving driver 120 may be configured to drive the LED module 130 according to the emission data generated by the skin color controller 110, that is, the combination data of the respective lights.

Next, the LED module 130 is installed inside the facial skin tissue 300 and may be configured to be driven by the LED driving driver 120 to emit light. Here, the LED module 130 may be configured to include a light emitting diode that emits red light, green light, and blue light, respectively. That is, one LED module 130 may be configured to include at least one red LED, green LED, and blue LED. The LED module 130 is provided directly inside the facial skin tissue 300 so that the light can be expressed through the facial skin tissue 300. 2 shows the appearance of an Android robot equipped with an LED module 130. As shown in FIG. 2, the LED module 130 is preferably included in at least one of the forehead and both cheeks of the facial skin tissue 300.

On the other hand, the facial skin tissue 300 may be basically added to the color tone close to the human skin color, it may be formed of a material such as silicon or rubber (frubber). In the past, there was no example of expressing skin color through the LED module 130, and it was only to express a uniform human skin color by adding a colorant. In the case of the present invention, since various brightness and colors must be expressed through the LED module 130, it is preferable that a small amount of colorant is added to the facial skin tissue 300 as much as possible. As a result, in the android robot according to the present invention, various emotions such as fear, sadness, joy, and sadness can be delicately expressed through a change in skin color.

By the way, the facial skin tissue 300 is formed thick due to the characteristics of the Android robot. In addition, when formed of silicon, it may be difficult to pass light by the LED module 130. In addition, in the region where the skin is thinly formed, light diffusion may occur severely, which may make it difficult to express effective skin color. Thus, in the present invention, in order to express a more subtle skin color, the light guide plate, a reflector, and a diffusion sheet may be further provided. 3 illustrates such a light guide plate, a reflecting plate, and a diffusion sheet hierarchically. As shown in FIG. 3, the light guide plate 131, the reflecting plate 132 and the diffusion sheet 133 are hierarchically positioned at the same level as the LED module 130 under the facial skin tissue 300. Hereinafter, each structure is demonstrated in detail.

First, the light guide plate 131 may be installed adjacent to the inner side of the facial skin tissue 300, and may be configured to distribute the light of the LED module 130 to the inner side of the facial skin tissue 300. The light guide plate 131 may allow the light of the LED module 130 to spread widely under the face skin tissue 300. Of course, the light can be effectively transmitted by various patterns.

Next, the reflector plate 132 may be installed adjacent to the lower part of the light guide plate 131 to reflect the light distributed through the light guide plate 131 to the face skin tissue 300. That is, the reflective plate 132 has an effect that the light transmitted through the light guide plate 131 is reflected to the facial skin tissue 300 to be diffused.

Accordingly, the light of the LED module 130 may be prevented from being awkwardly expressed by changing the brightness of each part of the facial skin tissue 300 by the light guide plate 131 and the reflective plate 132.

Next, the diffusion sheet 133 is installed between the face skin tissue 300 and the light guide plate 131 to be configured to uniformly diffuse the reflected light to the outside of the face skin tissue 300. Can be. The diffusion sheet 133 functions to convert the LED light directed to the facial skin tissue 300 through the light guide plate 131 and the reflective plate 132 into a surface light source of more uniform brightness. As the diffusion sheet 133 moves away from the LED module 130, the diffusion sheet 133 collects LED light having low efficiency, thereby increasing luminance and converting photometry into front light.

As such, the emotion expression apparatus 100 of the Android robot further includes a light guide plate 131, a reflection plate 132, a diffusion sheet 133, and the like, so that the light of the LED module 130 directly penetrates the facial skin tissue 300. It is softer and more natural than ever. Thus, a more realistic skin color can be expressed.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of expressing emotion of an android robot using skin color change according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, each structure is demonstrated in detail.

First, the skin color controller 110 receives the emotion data from the host controller 200 (S110). The skin color controller 110 may be configured to receive emotion data from the host controller 200 by a communication method such as a controller area network (CAN), a UART, or a USB. Here, the emotion data is data such as 'angry', 'joy', 'sorrow', etc., which may be configured to be received by the host controller 200 remotely from an external operator (not shown). Reception by wireless communication is preferable, and can be received by IEEE 802.11b, IEEE802.11.g, and the like.

Next, the skin color controller 110 generates light emission data for adjusting the light emission color according to the received emotion data (S120). Here, the light emission data is data mapped to the emotion data, and represents the light emission color according to the emotion. As mentioned above, for example, when receiving emotion data of 'angry', light emission data for generating skin color corresponding to emotion data of 'angry' is generated. Such light emission data may be composed of a combination of a ratio of red light, green light, and blue light. Luminescence data divided into approximately 100 levels for each color may be generated. The light emission data may be configured such that a ratio of red light, green light, and blue light is set differently according to the received emotion data. As described above, the light emission data may be mapped in advance according to the received emotion data, and the connection relationship may be configured to be previously stored in a predetermined light emission data DB (not shown). That is, the skin color controller 110 may be configured to query the light emission data DB (not shown) to read and use the light emission data mapped to the emotion data.

Next, the LED driving driver 120 drives the LED module 130 according to the generated light emission data (S130). Here, the LED module 130 may be configured to include a light emitting diode that emits red light, green light, and blue light, respectively, and the LED driving driver 120 according to the light emission ratio of each color indicated by the light emission data ( Drive each LED of 130).

Next, the LED module 130 is driven by the LED driving driver 120 to emit light (S140). Thus, the LED light is diffused through the facial skin tissue 300, it is possible to freely express the change of the skin color at any time. On the other hand, the LED module is driven by the LED driving driver to emit light (S140), the light of the LED module 130 is the face through the light guide plate 131 installed inside the face skin tissue 300 The light distributed in the skin tissue 300 may be configured to be reflected to the facial skin tissue 300 through the reflection plate 132 disposed adjacent to the lower portion of the light guide plate 131. The light guide plate 131 may allow the light of the LED module 130 to spread widely under the face skin tissue 300. Of course, the light can be effectively transmitted by various patterns as described above. The reflector 132 allows the light transmitted through the light guide plate 131 to be reflected and diffused toward the facial skin tissue 300.

The LED module is driven by the LED driving driver to emit light (S140), wherein the light reflected by the facial skin tissue 300 is installed between the facial skin tissue 300 and the light guide plate 131. Through the diffusion sheet 133 may be configured to uniformly diffuse to the outside of the facial skin tissue (300). The diffusion sheet 133 converts the LED light directed to the facial skin tissue 300 through the light guide plate 131 and the reflective plate 132 into a surface light source of more uniform brightness. In addition, as the distance away from the LED module 130, LED efficiency is reduced and the brightness is increased to change the metering to front light.

As such, the emotion expression apparatus 100 of the Android robot further includes a light guide plate 131, a reflection plate 132, a diffusion sheet 133, and the like, and thus the light of the LED module 130 is further transmitted through the facial skin tissue 300. Allows for a subtle, natural spread that realistically expresses changes in skin color.

The emotion expression method of the android robot using the skin color change described above may be implemented as a program to be recorded in a computer-readable medium. Here, the computer-readable medium may be an example of a flash ROM. Hereinafter, each step of the emotional expression method of the Android robot using the skin color change will be described.

First, the skin color controller 110 receives the emotion data from the host controller 120 (S110).

Next, the skin color controller 110 generates light emission data for adjusting the light emission color according to the received emotion data (S120). In this case, the emission data may be set differently in the ratio of red light, green light, and blue light according to the received emotion data.

Next, the LED driving driver 120 drives the LED module 130 according to the generated light emission data (S130). In this case, the LED module 130 may be configured to include a light emitting diode that emits red light, green light, and blue light, respectively.

Next, the LED module 130 is driven by the LED driving driver 120 to emit light (S140).

Here, the LED module 110 is driven by the LED drive driver 120 to emit light (S140), the light of the LED module 130, the light guide plate installed inside the facial skin tissue 300 Light distributed inside the facial skin tissue 300 through 131, and light distributed inside the facial skin tissue 300 through the reflection plate 132 disposed adjacent to the lower part of the light guide plate 131. It may be configured to be reflected.

In operation S140, the LED module 110 is driven by the LED driving driver 120 to emit light, and the light reflected by the facial skin tissue 300 is reflected on the facial skin tissue 300 and the light guide plate. It may be configured to uniformly diffuse to the outside of the facial skin tissue 300 through the diffusion sheet 133 provided between the 131.

Although described with reference to the embodiments above, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Could be.

1 is a block diagram of a device for expressing emotion of an android robot using skin color change according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an external perspective view of an apparatus for expressing emotion of an android robot using skin color change according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a hierarchical cross-sectional view of an emotion expression apparatus of an android robot using skin color change according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of expressing emotion of an android robot using skin color change according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: skin color controller 120: LED drive driver

130: LED module 131: light guide plate

132: reflector 133: diffusion sheet

Claims (7)

A skin color controller which receives the emotion data from the host controller and generates the emission data for adjusting the emission color according to the received emotion data; An LED driving driver operating according to the light emission data generated by the skin color controller; Is installed inside the facial skin tissue, and includes an LED module that is driven by the LED drive driver to emit light, A light guide plate disposed adjacent to the inside of the facial skin tissue and distributing the light of the LED module to the inside of the facial skin tissue; An apparatus for expressing emotion of an android robot using a change in skin color, the reflector being disposed adjacent to the lower part of the light guide plate and reflecting light distributed through the light guide plate to the facial skin tissue. delete The method of claim 1, And a diffusion sheet disposed between the face skin tissue and the light guide plate to uniformly diffuse the reflected light to the outside of the face skin tissue. The method of claim 3, The LED module emotion expression apparatus of the android robot using the skin color change, characterized in that it comprises a light emitting diode emitting red light, green light, blue light respectively. 5. The method of claim 4, The light emission data is the emotion expression apparatus of the android robot using the skin color change, characterized in that the ratio of the red light, green light, blue light is set differently according to the received emotion data. delete delete

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