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Transmitting Human Presence Through Portable Teleoperated Androids: A Minimal Design Approach

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Human-Harmonized Information Technology, Volume 1

Abstract

In this article, results from the JST/CREST project “Studies on cellphone-type teleoperated androids transmitting human presence” are described. The goal of this project is to develop new robotic communication devices that can provide a strong feeling of human presence, called “sonzaikan”, by distance and to clarify the principles of human nature behind this. We took a synthetic approach, exploring three bidirectional processes: system development, field studies, and evaluation. We first define sonzaikan , which forms the core concept of this study, and then in the following sections describe various implementations of sonzaikan media prototypes and supporting technologies, evaluations of sonzaikan media, and field studies using prototypes we developed. We discuss the results in detail and then conclude this article with a brief summary of our essential findings and a mention of future work.

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Acknowledgments

This project has been a collaborative work between several researchers from Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), Osaka University, and Tottori University. As principle investigator, I, Hiroshi Ishiguro, deeply appreciate the active collaborative work of everyone in the project. Dr. Shuichi Nishio at ATR took the initiative with the Telenoid field tests in Denmark and Japan. In addition, he helped me to summarize this report. Dr. Takashi Minato at ATR developed various versions of Telenoid and Elfoid . Dr. Carlos T. Ishi developed the software system that generates lip and head movements from the operator’s voice. Dr. Hidenobu Sumioka took the initiative with the Hugvie studies in elementary schools. Dr. Ryuji Yamazaki at ATR contributed to the field tests with Telenoid in Denmark. Prof. Hideyuki Nakanishi at Osaka University took the initiative with the psychological studies with Telenoid. Prof. Kazumasa Tanaka at Osaka University worked with Prof. Hideyuki Nakanishi and contributed to the psychological studies. Prof. Aya Nakae at Osaka University worked with Dr. Hidenobu Sumioka on the hormone tests with Hugvie. Prof. Yoshio Iwai at Tottori University developed the vision system of Telenoid. Prof. Hiroki Yoshimura and Prof. Maiya Hori worked with Prof. Yoshio Iwai on the vision system. In addition to these researchers, our students at ATR, Osaka University, and Tottori University made contributions that are much appreciated. This project has been very successful and has obtained a good reputation, especially in Japan and Denmark. We could not have made this achievement without the efforts of all these collaborators. This work has been supported by JST/CREST.

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  1. Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, 2-2 Hikaridai, Keihanna Science City, Kyoto, 6190288, Japan

    Hiroshi Ishiguro

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  1. Hiroshi Ishiguro
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Ishiguro .

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  1. Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Toyoaki Nishida

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Ishiguro, H. (2016). Transmitting Human Presence Through Portable Teleoperated Androids: A Minimal Design Approach. In: Nishida, T. (eds) Human-Harmonized Information Technology, Volume 1. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55867-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55867-5_2

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