Lab Talk
A Future “Family Room” Created Together with Robots
HAGIO Yuta
Internet Service Systems Research Division
With recent changes in family structure and the spread of mobile devices, opportunities for people to watch television together are in decline. In this Lab Talk, we introduce a study we have been doing, using companion robots to reproduce the enjoyable, “family room” environment that is being lost. We explain how these robots are not controlled by the broadcaster, but operate autonomously with a mechanism that generates original utterances and gestures based on information from the television program.
* Part of this research was conducted in collaboration with KDDI Research, Inc.
A word from our presenter
There are aspects to watching television with someone else that you cannot enjoy by yourself, like idle conversation, spontaneous humor, or sharing in the emotion. With a robot that can share such experiences, anyone can enjoy these aspects of television viewing, without depending on a home environment. We hope you can feel the potential of this new type of television viewing environment!
