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This paper proposes a neural-based method to map facial expressions between human and robot. We applied the method to a sensitivity communication robot, Ifbot, which has been developed by our industry-university joint research project. The method enables the robot to imitate an arbitrary human facial expression. The paper describes the feature extraction from face image, and proposes neural network based parameter matching between human facial expression and Ifbot's facial expression mechanism. This paper also reports the evaluation of the facial expression transmission performance of Ifbot with the proposed system. The evaluation shows the effectiveness of emphasizing emotional expressions and the possibility of using Ifbot as an agent for distance communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method for sensitivity communication robots which infer their dialogist's emotion. The method is based on the Bayesian approach: by using a Bayesian modeling for prosodic features. In this research, we focus the elements of emotion included in dialogist's voice. Thus, as training datasets for learning Bayesian networks, we extract prosodic feature quantities from emotionally expressive voice data. Our method learns the dependence and its strength between dialogist's utterance and his emotion, by building Bayesian networks. Bayesian information criterion, one of the information theoretical model selection method, is used in the building Bayesian networks. The paper finally proposes a reasoner to infer dialogist's emotion by using a Bayesian network for prosodic features of the dialogist's voice. The paper also reports some empirical reasoning performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a method that enable a domestic robot to show emotions with its facial expressions. The previous methods using built-in facial expressions were able to show only scanty face. To express faces showing complex emotion, mixed emotions and different strengths of emotions, more facial expressions are needed. We have therefore developed a system that converts emotions into "Ifbot" robot's facial expressions automatically. They are created from emotion parameters, which represent its emotions. Content Areas: Entertainment and AI, robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a parallel stochastic approach to neural oscillator based motion control for bipedal humanoid locomotion. The motion control is based on the Central Pattern Generator (CPG), and is optimized by Simulated Annealing. Optimization of parameters in the motion control based on the CPG is a very hard problem. The number of the parameters which should be optimized increases as a robot's link structure becomes complicated. To optimize all parameters simultaneously may cause explosion of search space. Therefore, we divide search space into upper-limbs optimization space and leg optimization space. We then propose a parallel optimization method by two processes, which handles the control parameters of upper-limbs and legs, and communicates them each other. In the experiments, our method succeeded in optimization of all parameters without explosion of search space, and performed superior gaits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of archaeology, reconstruction of earthenware imposes a heavy task on archaeologists. In order to reduce their task, we have developed a system, which can automatically reconstruct earthenware from given potsherds. The system is required to detect a pair of segments to join from potsherds correctly, by evaluation of salient values for shape of its contours. In existent method, the salient values are calculated with fixed precision. The calculation, thereby, makes the system computationally very expensive, when the number of potsherds increases. In this paper, we introduce search control, iterative deepening, into joint detection, and propose JDID (Joint Detection with Iterative Deepening), which can efficiently detect a pair of segments to join by dynamically changing its precision of salient value calculation; depending upon complexity of shape of potsherds. We have also implemented an earthenware reconstruction system and performed drastic speedup of the reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]