Transformers toys and animations that many people came into contact with when they were young may be the first robots they know about. Nowadays, fictional robots are gradually appearing in the real world and have become powerful helpers for humans in many ways.
factory , nanorobot in medicine, Mars robots, etc. have all brought unprecedented convenience to humans' exploration of unknown fields and have become accelerators of scientific and technological progress.
"Looking back and smiling, the six palaces have no color" This well-known poem comes from " Song of Everlasting Sorrow " by Bai Juyi , which brings the beautiful and charming table of Yang Guifei The love is described vividly and vividly.
Nowadays, expressions are no longer exclusive to humans. The British Engineering Arts company used AI technology to replicate human expressions on robots, making the cold machine also have a complete set of human "emoticon packages", which were instantly given Human emotions. The history of robots has moved from just the first stage where they look similar to humans, to the second stage that can express human emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
pic | Ameca realistic facial expressions (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
Recently, the company will present the robot Ameca ( Ameka)'s facial expressions and movements are updated and upgraded on the technical level to make it Become more real, agile and lively.
Figure | Ameca (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
According to the official website of Engineering Arts Company, Ameca is the most powerful Highlights and innovative thinking AI products weigh 49 kg, 187 cm in height, and the body consists of dozens of parts.
Ameca can freely perform dozens of imitating human body movements. It has been exhibited at the world-famous robot exhibition. Its popularity in the industry has rapidly increased and has been given the honorary title of "the most realistic robot in the world".
Figure | Human facial muscles (Source: Pixabay)
According to Human anatomy data, human facial muscles have as many as dozens of pieces, helping people The class accurately displays a single expression of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness, and does it under different external stimulations. Complex expressions. Therefore, it is difficult for a robot to imitate human facial expressions.
Engineering Arts takes a unique approach and takes great painstaking efforts. To ensure that Ameca's face can also respond accurately to external stimuli like a human, sensitive and quickly, the company has equipped it with state-of-the-art sensing equipment and other aspects on physical hardware.
Figure | Ameca's modular display (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
Scientists scan human facial expressions in a comprehensive manner, Model data of various expression changes such as muscles, 3D printing and mold making. Then, the robot is equipped with multiple sets of components and divided into various modules for assembly, which facilitates future maintenance and transformation and upgrading.
Picture | Ameca's 12 expressions (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
So, on the computer When the end is connected to the machine, the vivid and vivid facial expressions are reproduced onto the robot, and Ameca successfully demonstrates the pout Mouth, blinking, frowning, anger, sadness and other imitation facial expressions.
Figure | Ameca's artificial intelligence body AI×AB (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
Ameca emoticon construction process is complex It is complicated, and it is necessary to use the "Tritium operating system" and "Mesmer technology" to equip the robot with artificial intelligence body (Artificial Body) , i.e. AI×AB).
picture | Mesmer technical camera (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
picture | Ameca's silicone model (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
Figure | Ameca's internal machine structure (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
is constructed using Mesmer technology Computer operation The system can be used to create a simulation robot, collect a large amount of bone and muscle structure data on the human face for Ameca, and direct nearly 40 video recording devices to scan the human body at all angles.
Then, the Mesmer system captures the robot's expression and positioning, reshapes the 3D model, and finally, a 3D printer is used to create a model, turning the silicone filled into the model into a face simulated skin with a real-life texture.
diagram | Tritium operating system (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
diagram | Amec a's facial and limb structure (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
diagram | Ameca frame diagram (Source: Engineering Arts Company)
If you want the robot to show off its charm Different "emoticon packs" are not as easy as they seem. Under the control of the algorithm, the Tritium operating system injects vitality into the robot, connecting software and hardware to the cloud, and driving each module of the hardware, including the head, bones, limbs, etc. to generate actions.
Although Ameca has achieved the ultimate in expression display, it cannot walk yet.
Engineering Arts plans to transform and upgrade it to become a versatile player with more human functions such as walking and running. In the future, Ameca can be used to make movies, act as a stand-in for webinars, or facial plastic surgery, etc. The addition of more advanced artificial intelligence technologies such as
expressions and body movements makes the robot more realistic and lively. Looking back at the scene in the cartoon " Iron Arm Astro Boy ", it is still vivid in my mind. The robot walking on the street is no different from a human.
Perhaps, in the near future, more robots that are endowed with human emotions like Ameca will be created, which may have an important impact on all aspects of human society. The robots that appear in science fiction blockbusters such as "Star Wars" and " Robotic Men " may often accompany us and coexist with humans. When people walk on the road, they may not be able to distinguish between real humans and simulated robots.
Reference:
https://www.engineeredarts.co.uk/zh/robo t/ameca/
https://nerdist.com/article/robot-gets-more-realistic-expressions-engineering-arts-ameca/
