We propose a novel stuffed-toy robot with ability to express its intention through different responding force of the arms under force control. The robot is soft enough that people may want to embrace. The core of the research is the new force control mechanism for detection of the external force acting on the arms of the robot. The robot can sense the external force by a specialized force sensor and then change its stiffness with force control to respond to us. Different compliance on the arms can be realized by the change of force control gain.

Presenter(s)

Shoichi Hasegawa, Tokyo Institute of Technology