Globalization and the effect of recent infectious disease are changing the remote conversations as a new normal in business meetings, social provision and casual chatting. Previous research show that the remote conversations have a difficulty on showing the presence or attention to the other interlocutors, especially in the situation where the majority of interlocutor share the same place and one or a few interlocutor participate from difference place. This paper proposed "Parappa", a remote video conversation system, for those unbalanced condition by utilizing both physical and virtual approaches to share the nonverbal behaviors of remotely-participating interlocutor. The proposed system is constructed with a rotatable screen which projects the life-size avatar of remote interlocutor. The rotation of the screen represents the body posture and the projected avatar show the gesture. The results of preliminary analyses of eye gaze activities and frequency of the screen rotation during conversation suggests the possibilities that proposed system enables to show the presence of remote interlocutors.

The shortage of human resources in Japan has become a serious social issue in nursing care services owing to the rapid increase in the demand and the declining working population. Although the use of intelligent technologies such as robots, AI, and IT is expected to offer solutions, little progress has been made in the introduction and extensive use of these technologies in nursing care services. In this study, we aimed to clarify the factors that increase the preference for technology use in nursing care services from the perspective of trust. We conducted an online survey on attitudes towards nursing care and technologies in Japan, and statistically analyzed the relationships among the preference for technology use in nursing care, trust in technologies, and personal characteristics. The results revealed that those with high trust in intelligent technologies were more likely to prefer the use of such technologies in nursing care services.

Your face is one of the most important factors in communicating with people. At present, the TV-phone, which can transmit face information, is becoming a part of modern life. In order to transfer more realistic face information, we propose the face shape robot WD-1 (Waseda-Docomo face robot No.1), which can express various face shapes by morphing an average mask (made of SEPTON) through 19 facial control-points. In this study, an average face mask is made in order to express a wide range of shapes with few control points. The position, number and movement range of the control-points are optimized. In addition, we introduce 3-DOFs drive units and control each control-point on a plane, not at a point. In order to evaluate the performance of WD-1, we measure the shape error between the faces of three subjects and the WD-1 equivalents. We elucidate the weaknesses of the current WD-1 implementation: a paucity of control points on the face line and wrinkling of the mask due to excessive local stress

Personal robots, which are expected to become popular in the future, are required to be active in joint work and community life with humans. Such robots must have no bad physical or psychical effect on humans. The psychical effect of a robot on humans has been subjectively measured using questionnaires. However, it has not been objectively measured yet. Human emotion and the consciousness direction can be measured by physiological parameters and body motion, respectively. Therefore, the bioinstrumentation system WB-1 was developed in order to objectively measure the psychical effect of a robot on a human. It can measure physiological parameters such as respiration, heart rate, perspiration and pulse wave, and arm motion. Analyzing human stress in the interaction with a robot from electrocardiogram, the robot could generate a motion for decreasing the stress

we would like to clarify the basic factors necessary for a symbiosis between creatures and robots through the interaction experiments between rats and robots. In our previous studies, we developed a robot involving two levers and conditioned the rat to push these levers to obtain food by experimenter’s teaching. In this paper, we try to condition the rats to push the levers on the robot to obtain food by the robot autonomously showing its functions without experimenter’s teaching. On animal psychology, “shaping” is used to condition animals to perform difficult or complex behavior that would rarely occur spontaneously. By importing the concept of “shaping,” we developed an operational pattern generation algorithm for the robot that enabled it to autonomously operate to show the rats its function. We then conducted an interaction experiment for evaluating this algorithm and confirmed the effectiveness of it. Thus, we proposed to import the concept of “shaping” into robot’s behavior generation to enable it to autonomously show creatures its functions.

Personal robots, which are expected to become popular in the future, are required to be active in joint work and community life with humans. Therefore, we have been developing new mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to express emotions and to communicate with humans in a human-like manner. In 2004, we introduced the "Behavior Model" and "Consciousness Model" to the robot mental model so that the robot generated various kinds of behavior and an object of the robot's behavior became clear. We implemented the mental model in the emotion expression humanoid robot WE-4RII (Waseda Eye No.4 Refined II). Also, we have been studying a system of multiple harmonic oscillators (neurons) interacting via chaotic force since 2002. Each harmonic oscillator is driven by chaotic force whose bifurcation parameter is modulated by the position of the harmonic oscillator. In this paper, we propose an associative memory model using mutually coupled chaotic neural networks for generating an optimum behavior to a stimulus. We implemented this model in the emotional expression humanoid robot WE-4RII (Waseda Eye No.4 Refined II).

We clarify the basic factors necessary for a symbiotic relationship between humans and robots. However, evaluating interaction between humans and robots is difficult due to a number of uncertain factors in human communication. Therefore, less sophisticated creatures, rats, were first selected, and we conducted interaction experiments between rats and robots. In our previous studies, we could not conduct these experiments for over 2 hours. We then developed a new experimental system to conduct the experiments without time restrictions. Using this system, we conducted two interaction experiments. In one experiment, the robot, meeting a rat's request, could live symbiotically with the rat. In the other experiment, the robot, behaving sequentially without having met the rat, could control the rat. This paper investigates the factors for a symbiotic relationship between a rat and a robot by comparing the two experiments.

The authors have been developing humanoid robots in order to develop new mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotion. We considered that human arms play an important role. And, in 2003, we developed the 9-DOFs emotion expression humanoid arm. Then, we developed the emotion expression humanoid robot WE-4R (Waseda Eye No.4 Refined) by integrating the new arms into the human-like head robot WE-4. Moreover, we introduced the new control algorithm for robot arm with redundant DOF into WE-4R. The new control algorithm was described by the junction of geometric constraint and robot emotion. We describe the mechanical design and the control algorithm of 9-DOFs emotion expression humanoid arm.

The authors have been developing humanoid robots in order to develop new mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotion. We considered that human hands play an important role in communication because human hands have grasping, sensing and emotional expression abilities. Then, we developed the emotion expression humanoid robot WE-4RII (Waseda Eye No.4 Refined II) by integrating the new humanoid robot hands RCH-1 (RoboCasa Hand No.1) into the emotion expression humanoid robot WE-4R. Furthermore, we confirmed that RCH-1 and WE-4RII had effective emotional expression ability because the correct recognition rate of WE-4RII's emotional expressions was higher than the WE-4R's one. In this paper, we describe the mechanical features of WE-4RII.

This paper presents the design and development of a 3-axial artificial vestibular system to be integrated on robotic heads, in order to provide a sense of head position and motion. In accordance with the role of the vestibular system in humans, this artificial vestibular system is specifically devoted to regulate and stabilize gaze during head motion, by means of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) mechanism. Future applications explore the possibility of using the artificial vestibular system on human heads, as an indirect interface between humans and robots, for 'tele-control'.

Among social infrastructure technologies, robot technology (RT) is expected to play an important role in solving the problems of both decrease of birth rate and increase of elderly people in the 21st century, specially but not only in Japan. In order to achieve this objective, the new generation of personal robots should be capable of a natural communication with humans by expressing human-like emotion. In this sense, human hands play a fundamental role in communication, because they have grasping, sensing and emotional expression ability. This paper presents the recent results of the collaboration between the Takanishi Lab of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, and the Arts Lab of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy, and ROBOCASA. In this paper, the development of a novel anthropomorphic hand for humanoid robotics RCH-1 (ROBOCASA Hand No.1) and its integration into a humanoid robotic platform, named WE-4RII (Waseda Eye No.4 Refined II) is presented.

The application of robots in contact with humans, in services or assistance, implies the realization of effective and acceptable human-robot interaction. In humans, vision plays a significant role in social interaction, like for example in the recognition of faces and expressions, as well as in gesture understanding. Visuo-motor coordination of eye and neck movements in humans presents high performances in terms of accuracy, speed, effectiveness. This is due to the mechanical, cinematic, and dynamic features of the head muscular-skeletal apparatus and to the peculiar processing of visual data, detected with a space variant resolution. The work presented in this paper aims at employing retina-like cameras in human-like robotic head, reproducing similar degrees of freedom, ranges of motion, speeds, and accelerations of human neck and eye movements, in order to improve visuo-motor coordination. The use of retina-like cameras allows a faster human-like processing of visual information, better suited for the control of head movements. On the other hand, retina-like cameras provide high resolution information only in a small area of the image and thus need to be dynamically focused on the points of interest. Experimental trials were focused on the capability of identifying and tracking human faces, as a first step of human-robot interaction. Preliminary experimental results show the feasibility of a smooth face tracking, by a closed control loop for the head movements, based on retina-like vision.

The authors have been developing human-like head robots in order to develop new head mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotion. Furthermore, the interaction between humans and robots is one of the essential factors for the Neuro-Robotics. We believed that the Mental Dynamics caused by the stimuli from the internal and external environment is important in expressing emotion. Therefore, we newly developed a human-like head robot WE-4 (Waseda Eye No.4) in 2002. The "Learning System", the "Mood Vector" and the "Second Order Equations of Emotion" were introduced to the mental model of the robot. Moreover, an internal clock was introduced as an autonomic nerve system to express the activation component of the Mood Vector. And, we realized the expression of mental transition caused by the stimuli from the internal and external environment of the robot. In this paper, we describe the new mental model of a human-like head robot WE-4.

The authors have been developing human-like head robots in order to develop new head mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotion. We believe that in the future, it will be necessary for personal robots to generate active behavior to interact bilaterally between human and robot. Therefore, we developed an emotion expression humanoid robot WE-4R (Waseda eye no.4 refined) in 2003. The need model consisting of the "appetite," the "need for security" and the "need for exploration" was introduced to the mental model for humanoid robots. We also defined the "need matrix" and introduced the "equations of need" to describe the robot needs. Robots with the need model can generate and express active behavior according to their need. This paper describes the need model that is implemented in the emotion expression humanoid robot WE-4R.

The authors have been developing human-like head robots in order to develop new head mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotion. We were able to simulate four sensations (the visual, auditory, cutaneous and olfactory sensations) of a human five senses by developing WE-3 (W_aseda E_ye No.3_) series since 1995. However, the robot system of WE-3 has become too complex and big from added improvements. Therefore, in 2002, we developed a new human-like head robot WE-4 (W_aseda E_ye No. 4_). We newly added a waist to WE-4, and realized emotional expression with not only the face, but also the upper-half part of the robot body. Also, WE-4 is smaller and lighter from revisions in mechanisms of the robot head In this paper we describe the mechanical features of the human-like head robot WE-4.

The authors have been developing new head mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotion. In this paper, they focus on the olfactory sensation and facial color that humans use to communicate with each other. Human's olfactory sensation recognizes over thousand different smells. The WE-3RIV (Waseda eye No.3 refined IV) developed can recognize the smell of alcohol, ammonia and cigarette smoke. The olfactory sensor consists of four semiconductor gas sensors. WE-3RIV is able to recognize certain smells within a few seconds of being presented with the smell stimuli by using the sensor output and the rate of changing of output. Further, we developed the facial color expression using red electro-luminescent sheets. By adding the facial color expression, the expressiveness of the robot and its facial expression are improved.

The authors deal with human-like head robots in order to develop new head mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotion. When humans communicate through auditory or visual sensations, they estimate their mental state through not only the information of each sensation but also their mental model. A robot's mental model consists of a 3D mental space having a pleasantness, and activation and a certainty axes. When the robot senses the stimulus, a mental vector moves in this mental space based on the equations of emotion. We also propose a robot personality which consists of sensing personality and expression personality. Further, we assign and load various sensing personalities.

The authors have been developing human-like head robots in order to develop new head mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot that has the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human-like emotions. We think that the personality of the robot is extremely important in attaining smooth and effective communication. We introduced a robot personality that consists of the sensing personality and the expression personality. The sensing personality determines how a stimulus works for a robot's mental state. A 3D mental space was defined in the robot. Seven emotions were mapped out in the 3D mental space. After the robot determines its emotion, it expresses its emotion by the expression personality. We expressed the expression personality using a matrix. Moreover, we assigned and loaded six robot personalities into the robot. The robot can express various personalities.

The authors have been developing anthropomorphic head-eye robots, in order to elucidate the human vision system from an engineering point of view, and to develop a new head mechanism and function for a humanoid robot having the ability to communicate naturally with a human. We developed an anthropomorphic head-eye robot "WE-3R III" (Waseda Eye No.3 Refined III) having auditory sensation, cutaneous sensation and a facial expression mechanism with eyes, eyelids, eyebrows, lips, a jaw and a neck. It is said that the human cutaneous sensations include contact, pressure, cold, warmth and pain, so a tactile sensor and a temperature sensor were mounted on the robot. For the tactile sensor, we adopted a force sensing resistor. We think that the difference in touching methods such as 'push', 'stroke' and 'hit' have an effect on emotion, therefore we developed the method for recognizing those differences, and installed it in the robot. By improving and rebuilding the artificial psychological model of WE-3RII using a new concept-equations of emotion-in a 3D mental space, we realized expression of the mental state affected by various stimuli with WE-3R III.

In this paper, we introduce an attempt to realize communication between rats and rat-robots for the advancement of communication between humans and robots. By repeating certain interactions between rats and robots, we aim to clarify the effective factors in communication. The experimental system is equipped with a CCD camera above the experimental field. The positions of the rat and the rat-robot are calculated in real-time. We have developed the Rat-Robot WM-5 (W_aseda M_ouse-No.5). The main features of the robot consist of the similarity in figure and size, the remote control by an FM receiver, the ability to change direction on the spot by the use of a two-wheel mechanism, the shaking of the head, and the behavioral imitation of a rat's mounting. An interactive experiment between a rat and a rat-robot was carried out with the developed system. The rat's behaviors were compared in two cases. The rat-robot mounted the rat in one situation but didn't do it in another. We observed that the robot's action of mounting the rat makes the rat more interested in the robot for longer period of time, and thus the mounting of the robot by the rat occurred. As a result, the imitation of the rat's mounting seems likely to work well in the communication between rats and rat-robots.

The authors have been developing anthropomorphic head robots in order to develop a new head mechanisms and functions for a humanoid robot having the ability to communicate naturally with a human by expressing human like emotion. We developed the anthropomorphic head-eye robot "WE-3RIV" (Waseda Eye No.3 Refined IV) which has four sensations and facially expresses emotions in 2000. We have recently added the olfactory sensation and the facial color expression function to its previous model, WE-3RIII, and we improved and rebuilt its artificial psychological model that consists of a 3D mental space having pleasantness, activation and certainty axes. When the robot senses the stimulus, a mental vector moves in the mental space based upon a set of differential equations in the mathematical formulation. We named it "equations of emotion. " We also introduced the robot personality, which consists of the sensing personality and the expression personality. WE-3RIV was realized to express the mental state affected by various stimuli based on the equations of emotion and the robot personality.