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International Journal of Social Robotics

Published in:

14-03-2021

Production of Character Animation in a Home Robot: A Case Study of LOVOT

Authors: Naoto Yoshida, Shuto Yonemura, Masahiro Emoto, Kanji Kawai, Naoki Numaguchi, Hiroki Nakazato, Shunsuke Otsubo, Megumi Takada, Kaname Hayashi

Published in: International Journal of Social Robotics | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

This is a case study focused on the development of LOVOT, a consumer home robot that went on sale in 2019. Since its unveiling in 2018, approximately 20,000 people have visited the LOVOT demonstration event as of the end of July 2019. In practical terms, LOVOT lives at home with the user long-term, similar to a companion animal; LOVOT performs continuous natural motion for user comfort. We applied movements using professional animator techniques based on the principles of traditional animation to LOVOT. We have identified specific practical techniques in home robot animation through iterative prototyping in our synergetic development of character animation techniques and tools. In this paper, we introduce our practical methods to develop many behaviors in a single robotic agent and is the collaborative efforts of a group of people with diverse professional backgrounds. Furthermore, we summarize how traditional techniques of character animation were applied, and new techniques were required from the perspective of professional animators.

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Summarized explanations are adopted from Shultz et al. [11].

For safety concerns, a LOVOT on the floor does not start touching users automatically.

Because we intended that almost all behaviors be interactive, this is a special case in the development of the behavior of LOVOT.

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Title: Production of Character Animation in a Home Robot: A Case Study of LOVOT
Authors: Naoto Yoshida
Shuto Yonemura
Masahiro Emoto
Kanji Kawai
Naoki Numaguchi
Hiroki Nakazato
Shunsuke Otsubo
Megumi Takada
Kaname Hayashi
Publication date: 14-03-2021
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: International Journal of Social Robotics / Issue 1/2022
Print ISSN: 1875-4791
Electronic ISSN: 1875-4805
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-021-00746-0

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