DEVICE AND METHOD FOR EXPRESSING ROBOT AUTONOMOUS EMOTIONS

• US 20110144804A1
• Filed: 05/13/2010
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: National Chiao Tung University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Original Assignee: National Chiao TUNG University of Taiwan Republic of China
• Inventors: Lin, Chia-How, SONG, Kai-Tai, Han, Meng-Ju
• Application Number:
  US12/779,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20110144804A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/246
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0015 Face robots, animated artificial faces for imitating human expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/006 based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/008 based on physical entities controlled by simulated intelligence so as to replicate intelligent life forms, e.g. based on robots replicating pets or humans in their appearance or behaviour

Abstract

A device for expressing robot autonomous emotions comprises: a sensing unit; a user emotion recognition unit, recognizing current user emotional states after receiving sensed information from the sensing unit, and calculating user emotional strengths based on the current user emotional states; a robot emotion generation unit, generating robot emotional states based on the user emotional strengths; a behavior fusion unit, calculating a plurality of output behavior weights by a fuzzy-neuro network based on the user emotional strengths and a rule table; and a robot reaction unit, expressing a robot emotional behavior based on the output behavior weights and the robot emotional states.

Claims

1. A device for expressing robot autonomous emotions, comprising:

a sensing unit, obtaining sensed information;

a user emotion recognition unit, recognizing current user emotional states after receiving the information sensed from the sensing unit, and calculating user emotional strengths based on the current user emotional states;

a robot emotion generation unit, generating robot emotional states based on the user emotional strengths;

a behavior fusion unit, calculating a plurality of output behavior weights by a fuzzy-neuro network based on the user emotional strengths and a rule table for a plurality of input emotional strength conditions and a plurality of output behavior weights; and

a robot reaction unit, expressing a robot emotional behavior based on the output behavior weights and the robot emotional states.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the fuzzy-neuro network is an unsupervised learning neuro-network.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the fuzzy-neuro network is a fuzzy Kohonen clustering network (FKCN) having an at least three-layer structure and a full connection in the linkers between different layers of neurons.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the fuzzy-neuro network comprise:

an input layer, to which a pattern to be identified are inputted;

a distance layer, calculating the difference grades between the inputted pattern and a typical pattern; and

a membership layer, calculating a membership grade of the inputted pattern with respect to the typical pattern, wherein the membership grade is a value between 0 and 1.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the sensed information comprises information obtained by at least one of a camera, a microphone, an ultrasonic device, a laser scanner, a touch sensor, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the rule table contains at lease one set of user emotional strength weights and at least one set of robot behavior weights corresponding to the user emotional strength weights.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the robot reaction unit comprises a robotic face expression simulator for expressing a robot emotional behavior.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the robot reaction unit comprises an output graphical robot face, wherein the output graphical robot face expresses human face-like emotions.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the output graphical robot face is applicable to one of a toy, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an intelligent mobile phone, a computer and a robotic device.

10. A method for expressing robot autonomous emotions, comprising:

obtaining sensed information by a sensing unit;

recognizing current user emotional states based on the sensed information and calculating user emotional strengths based on the current user emotional states by an emotion recognition unit;

generating robot emotional states based on the user emotional strengths;

calculating a plurality of output behavior weights by a fuzzy-neuro network based on the user emotional strengths and a rule table; and

expressing a robot emotional behavior based on the output behavior weights and the robot emotional states.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the sensed information comprises information obtained by at least one of a camera, a microphone, an ultrasonic device, a laser scanner, a touch sensor, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the fuzzy-neuro network is a fuzzy Kohonen clustering network (FKCN) having at least three-layer structure and a full connection in the linkers between different layers of neurons.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the fuzzy-neuro network comprises:

an input layer, to which a pattern to be identified are inputted;

a distance layer, calculating the difference grades between the inputted pattern and a typical pattern; and

a membership layer, calculating a membership grade of the inputted pattern with respect to the typical pattern, wherein the membership grade is a value between 0 and 1.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the fuzzy-neuro network is an unsupervised learning neuro-network.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the rule table contains at lease one set of user emotional strength weights and at least one set of robot behavior weights corresponding to the user emotional strength weights.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the robot reaction unit comprises a robotic face expression simulator for expressing a robot emotional behavior.