A Study on Robot Mask to Support and Enhance Facial Expressions

本研究提出了一种基于机器人技术的支持装置——机器人面具，以辅助面部表情。主要用于辅助面瘫患者的表达功能。机器人，即机器人面具，是为实现面部表情辅助而开发的可穿戴设备。这种基于解剖学的外骨骼装置依靠机械操作来辅助面部表情。在这项研究中，开发了一种基于形状记忆合金的驱动器来驱动机器人面具。所设计的执行机构安装了嵌入式控制器，实现了反馈位置控制。在机器人面具中，基于生物电信号的实时生物机器人控制已被用于根据佩戴者的意图无缝控制辅助表情。

This study presents a novel robotic technology based supporting device, the Robot Mask, to assist expressions on the face. It is mainly designed to assist the expressive function of facial paralyzed patients. The robot, namely the Robot Mask, is the wearable device, which has been developed to realize expression assistance for the face. The anatomy based exoskeletal device relies on mechanical manipulations to assist the facial expressiveness. In this study, new shape memory alloy based actuators were developed to power the Robot Mask. The designed actuators are equipped with embedded controllers to realize feedback position control. In the Robot Mask, bioelectrical signal based real time biorobotic control has been used to seamlessly control the assisted expressions according to the intentions of the wearer.