A small number actuator mechanism design for anthropomorphic face robot

The goal of this research is to develop a face robot with a new facial expression mechanism using a small number of actuators. Many designs of face robots have been investigated and published in the past. Most face robots can generate a variety of expressions by moving a large number of control points underneath the artificial skin. The number of control points is usually larger than 10, and each control point is driven by a motor, pneumatic muscle, or other actuators. The large number of actuators results in high cost, low reliability, and difficult repair. To overcome the drawbacks, a simplified facial expressional mechanism of a face robot is proposed which uses only a small number of motors but it can generate a variety of facial expressions. Our research provides a new direction of practical face robots for commercialization.