Robot Eyes Suitable for Communication: Integrated Design of Appearance and Function

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Human eyes not only serve the function of enabling us "to see" something, but also perform the vital role of allowing us "to show" our gaze for non-verbal communication, such as through establishing eye contact and joint attention. The eyes of service robots should therefore also perform both of these functions. Moreover, they should be friendly in appearance so that humans may feel comfortable with the robots. In this research, we first developed a robot face with rear-projected eyes for changing their appearance while simultaneously realizing the showing of gaze by incorporating stereo cameras. Then, we examined which shape of robot eyes is most suitable for gaze reading while giving the friendliest impression, through carrying out experiments where we altered the shape and iris size of robot eyes. Finally, we investigated how robots should move their eyes and head to give natural and friendly impressions.