Moore, R.K. orcid.org/0000-0003-0065-3311 and Mitchinson, B. (2017) A biomimetic vocalisation system for MiRo. In: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2017. Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2017, 26-28 Jul 2017, Stanford, CA. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 10384 . Springer International Publishing , pp. 363-374. ISBN 978-3-319-63536-1
Abstract
There is increasing interest in the use of animal-like robots in applications such as companionship and pet therapy. However, in the majority of cases it is only the robot's physical appearance that mimics a given animal. In contrast, MiRo is the first commercial biomimetic robot to be based on a hardware and software architecture that is modelled on the biological brain. This paper describes how MiRo's vocalisation system was designed, not using pre-recorded animal sounds, but based on the implementation of a real-time parametric general-purpose mammalian vocal synthesiser tailored to the specific physical characteristics of the robot. The novel outcome has been the creation of an 'appropriate' voice for MiRo that is perfectly aligned to the physical and behavioural affordances of the robot, thereby avoiding the 'uncanny valley' effect and contributing strongly to the effectiveness of MiRo as an interactive device.
Metadata
Item Type: | Proceedings Paper |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Springer International Publishing AG. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Biomimetic robot; MiRo; Mammalian vocalisation; Vocal synthesis |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Computer Science (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 25 Aug 2017 14:14 |
Last Modified: | 08 Mar 2018 10:44 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63537-8_30 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer International Publishing |
Series Name: | Lecture Notes in Computer Science |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/978-3-319-63537-8_30 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:120574 |