robita and robisuke conversational robots

‘robisuke’ conversational robot engaged in discussion image courtesy of gruponeva

‘robita’ (real-world oriented bimodal talking agent) and ‘robisuke’ are conversational robots designed to focus on the rhythm and nuances of conversation in addition to the speech content. in and out of development since 1999 and 2003 respectively, the pair are predecessors to the schema robot debuted last fall, but despite being less well known than schema, offer human-like attributes that make them unique among today’s robots. all three are the work of researchers at waseda university’s kobayashi lab in japan.

standing 100cm (3.3 feet) tall and weighing about 40kg (88lbs), ‘robisuke’ features gaze direction and facial expression recognition, as well as head gesture recognition that interprets nodding and shaking. the robot is capable of learning new words and inferring their meaning based on the rest of the conversation as well as from the tone and expression of its speaking partner.

‘robita’, the earlier of the two to be produced, is specialized for communication with a group of people, and thus uses two head-mounted microphones for sound localization. stereo cameras offer input for facial and gaze direction recognition, and the robot can express its own emotions with actuated brows and mouth and fully articulated five-finger hands.

demo of ‘robisuke’ in conversation

full views of ‘robita’ (left) and ‘robisuke’ (right)

closer view of ‘robisuke’

robita and robisuke are the predecessors to the schema robot, demoed here

via plasticpals