Outline

We are engaged in the development of a communication robot that provides company to people watching TV at home. As the basic functions necessary for watching TV, we are developing utterance generation technology that will allow it to talk about the programs on TV, and TV and people detection technology. This exhibit shows a moving robot that incorporates these technologies.

Features

Environmental sensing technology to detect the TV and people

We are developing technology that enables a robot to automatically detect its surrounding environment. The position of the television and people in the room are detected by using a camera and microphone array mounted on the robot.

Technology for generating utterances related to the program

We are developing a technique whereby the robot can spontaneously speak words related to a TV program. This is accomplished by extracting keywords that are closely related to the program from program information and subtitles, and using these keywords to generate spoken sentences.

Controlling the robot’s speech and motion in accordance with the broadcast program

When watching broadcast programs, the robot performs actions such as murmuring in the direction of the television, or turning to people and speaking.