14 DAY TRIAL // This might actually be the weirdest thing I have ever seen. The Waseda-Docomo's manufacturers have succeeded in creating a shape-shifting robot, which - as the name suggests - is capable of changing its face. At first, the creators decided ''the position of the necessary points to express the outline, eyes, nose and so on of a certain person. The robot expresses his/her face by moving all points to the decided positions", they say. It looks spooky to me, though.
The first version of the robot was first developed back in 2003. After that, a year later, they did a couple of major improvements in the design. The robot features an elastic mask made from the average head dummy. It uses a driving system with a 3DOF unit. The WD-2 robot can change its facial features by activating specific facial points on a mask, with each point possessing three degrees of freedom.
This one has 17 facial points, for a total of 56 degrees of freedom. As for the materials they used, the WD-2's mask is fabricated with a highly elastic material called Septom, with bits of steel wool mixed in for added strength, as Takanishi.mech.waseda says.
Besides that, the Robotworldnews states: "Researchers have designed a robot that not only makes facial expressions, but changes its facial expressions with nearly the minute detail of a human face. While other robots make expressions that mean "happy," "sad," "excited," or "angry," Waseda-Docomo face robot 2 can make tiny movements to reveal a wide spectrum of meanings." I couldn't agree more on that.
Other technical features reveal a shaft is driven behind the mask at the desired facial point, driven by a DC motor with a simple pulley and a slide screw. Apparently, the researchers can also modify the shape of the mask based on actual human faces. To "copy" a face, they only need a 3D scanner to determine the locations of an individual's 17 facial points. After that, they are then driven into position using a laptop and 56 motor control boards.
In addition, the researchers also mention that the shifting robot can even display an individual's hair style and skin color, if a photo of their face is projected onto the 3D mask. Can it copy Jabba the Hut, too?
What can I say, it isn't as cool as I have expected it to be, but it is scary enough! Here's the video with the WD-2 robot from the Internet:
It looks like taken from Michael Jackson's Black or White Video, doesn't it?
