Human-Robot Coordination in Ballroom Dance and Its Generalization

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With the coming of aging societies, several serious problems are considered in our society. Robots are expected to be one of solutions for the problems relating to our daily activities, such as in medical and welfare fields, at home and office, in construction sites, and so on. However, it is currently difficult for the robots to execute tasks without help from human in such environments because recognizing the current situation and deciding appropriate behavior completely are not easy for the robots. Against the background, several researchers have developed human-robot collaboration system, e.g. human power assist system, in which robots execute tasks in coordination with human. In most human-robot collaboration system, robots behave passively against intentional forces applied by human. If robots could operate not only passively but also actively based on human intentions, information on the environments, knowledge of tasks etc., effective human-robot coordination could be realized. … More This research focused on ballroom dancing as an example of the effective human-robot coordination with the physical interaction. In the ballroom dance, a dancer needs to have a physical interaction with a partner. In addition, each dancer has to estimate the intention of the partner, and move based on its intention, information on environments, knowledge of dances, etc. in order to dance gracefully. Therefore the ballroom dance is a good example for human-robot coordination including the physical interaction between the human and the robot. In this project, we have developed a dance partner robot system as a platform for investigation of the effective human-robot coordination. We have also proposed control architecture for moving the robot based on the human intention, information on the environments, and knowledge of dances. The product of developing the dance partner robot system could be useful for developments of other human-assist systems, in which the robots are expected to behave appropriately based on human intention, information on the environments, knowledge of tasks etc. As examples of the human-assist systems, we have applied the research product to another human-robot cooperation system and a walking support system. Finally, we have discussed effective human-robot cooperation system, and have made a report on this project. Less