Apparatus and method for synthesizing emotions based on the human nervous system

• US 20030067486A1
• Filed: 10/07/2002
• Published: 04/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Hyoung-Ki, Lee, Mi-Hee, Bang, Seok-Won
• Granted Patent: US 7,333,969 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/004 Artificial life, i.e. computing arrangements simulating life

Abstract

Disclosed is a nervous system-based emotion synthesizing apparatus which enables an emotion of a humanoid to be synthesized in a manner similar to that of a human using a nervous system-adjusting mechanism of a human body according to emotions The human nervous system-based emotion synthesizing apparatus, includes a stimulus sensor portion having at least a stimulus sensor for sensing an external stimulus, an emotion generator for generating an predetermined emotion corresponding to the sensed external stimulus, a physiological signal generator for generating at least one artificial physiological signal in response to the sensed stimulus and the generated emotion, and an emotional behavior generator for generating at least one emotional behavior through a predetermined physical reaction in response to the sensed stimulus and the generated emotion, whereby the generated artificial physiological signal is fed back to the emotion generator and the emotional behavior generator, and the generated emotional behavior is fed back to the emotion generator and the physiological signal generator so that the emotion, the artificial physiological signal and the emotional behavior are combined to produce and express a complex emotion

Claims

1. A human nervous system-based emotion synthesizing apparatus, comprising

a stimulus sensor portion having at least a stimulus sensor for sensing an external stimulus;

an emotion generator for generating an predetermined emotion corresponding to the sensed external stimulus;

a physiological signal generator for generating at least one artificial physiological signal in response to the sensed stimulus and the generated emotion; and

an emotional behavior generator for generating at least one emotional behavior through a predetermined physical reaction in response to the sensed stimulus and the generated emotion,

whereby the generated artificial physiological signal is fed back to the emotion generator and the emotional behavior generator, and the generated emotional behavior is fed back to the emotion generator and the physiological signal generator so that the emotion, the artificial physiological signal and the emotional behavior are combined to produce and express a complex emotion

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the emotion generator comprises a fuzzy rule-based system for generating a predetermined emotion from the sensed external stimulus applied thereto from the stimulus sensor, the emotional behavior fed back thereto from the emotional behavior generator and the physiological signal fed back thereto from the physiological signal generator according to a predefined rule

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the emotion generator further comprises a database for storing the predefined rule by which to generate the predetermined emotion

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the physiological signal generator comprises

an autonomic nervous system controller for modeling a concentration of a neurotransmitter affecting an autonomic nervous system in response to the external stimulus applied thereto from the stimulus sensor portion, the predetermined emotion generated from the emotion generator and the emotional behavior fed back thereto from the emotional behavior generator, and

an artificial physiology modeling section for modeling a physiological signal in response to the concentrations of the neurotransmitters modeled by the autonomic nervous system controller

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the autonomic nervous system controller models concentrations of norepinephrine (NE) and acetycholine (Ach) as the neurotransmitters reacting associated with a human autonomic nervous system based on the Warner model

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the artificial physiology modeling section generates the physiological signal which is proportional to an effect of an autonomic nervous system corresponding to the concentrations of the neurotransmitters based on the Integral Pulse Frequency Modulation (IPFM) model

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the physiological signal comprises signals associated with electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG), electrocardiogram (ECG), electrodermal activity(EDA), skin temperature (SKT), and respirations (Resp )

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the artificial physiology modeling section performs the modeling of outputs from an artificial electroencephalograph, an artificial heart, an artificial respirator and an artificial body temperature adjustor to generate the physiological signal

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the emotional behavior generator comprises

a motion controller adapted to generate a control signal to control the emotional behavior in response to the external stimulus applied thereto from the stimulus sensor, the predetermined emotion generated from the emotion generator and the physiological signal fed back thereto from the physiological signal generator;

and

a motor adapted to generate an emotional behavior through a predetermined physical reaction in response to the control signal from the motion controller.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the motion controller comprises a fuzzy rule-based system for determining the emotional behavior which corresponds to the external stimulus sensed applied thereto from the stimulus sensor portion, the predetermined emotion generated from the emotion generator and the physiological signal fed back thereto from the physiological signal generator according to a predefined rule

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the motion controller further comprises a database for storing the predefined rule by which to determine the emotional behavior

12. A human nervous system-based emotion synthesizing method, comprising the steps of

(a) receiving and sensing an external stimulus,

(b) generating a predetermined emotion corresponding to the sensed external stimulus,

(c) generating a physiological signal corresponding to the predetermined emotion, and generating an emotional behavior corresponding to the predetermined emotion, respectively,

(d) providing the generated physiological signal and the generated emotional behavior to the step (b) and (c),

(e) repeatedly performing the steps (b) and (c) in response to the generated predetermined emotion, the physiological signal and the emotional behavior and then combining the generated predetermined emotion, the physiological signal and the emotional behavior together to generate a complex emotion, and

(f) expressing the generated complex emotion in a form of an appropriate emotional behavior