Eye Design of Social Robots Inspired by the Difference of Gaze Clarity in Canid Species

Abstract

The clarity of the position of eyes and pupils in canid species varies depending on their sociality. On the other hand, existing social robots have a wide range of uses, such as education, medical care, and customer service, while most of the robots have had a simple design of eyes with white base and black iris. However, it is conceivable that the degree of appropriate communication intensity varies depending on the purpose of a robot, and that there is a suitable eye design depending on its use, as in canid species. In this study, we propose the appropriate gaze clarity of a robot to three situations where the avatar speaks to the human, the avatar listens to human’s talk, and the avatar is near by the human during the task requiring concentration.