Social Robot Facial Expression, KROS 2023

Jiyeon Lee, Haeun Park, Temirlan Dzhoroev, Byounghern Kim, Hui Sung Lee(2023, Feb). The Implementation and Analysis of Facial Expression Customization for a Social Robot. The Journal of Korea Robotics Society – Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 203-215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7746/jkros.2023.18.2.203

Abstract

Social robots, which are mainly used by individuals, emphasize the importance of human-robot relationships (HRR) more compared to other types of robots. Emotional expression in robots is one of the key factors that imbue HRR with value; emotions are mainly expressed through the face. However, because of cultural and preference differences, the desired robot facial expressions differ subtly depending on the user. It was expected that a robot facial expression customization tool may mitigate such difficulties and consequently improve HRR. To prove this, we created a robot facial expression customization tool and a prototype robot. We implemented a suitable emotion engine for generating robot facial expressions in a dynamic human-robot interaction setting. We conducted experiments and the users agreed that the availability of a customized version of the robot has a more positive effect on HRR than a predefined version of the robot. Moreover, we suggest recommendations for future improvements of the customization process of robot facial expression.