AI Robot Reproducing Ningyo Joruri Movements Features 32 Axes and High Degrees of Freedom

A research group including Professor Dongsheng Cai from the Faculty of Management at Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, Professor Shingo Hayano from the Faculty of Literature at Tsuru University, Lecturer Daisuke Tsuzuki from the Natural Science Cluster of the Faculty of Education at Kochi University, Associate Professor Hiroyuki Ukida from the Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences at Tokushima University, Associate Professor Nahoko Ii from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of the Ryukyus, Graduate Student Minori Ezawa from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Graduate Student Yuka Shinjo from the University of Tsukuba, and Jinichi Yamaguchi from the Yamaguchi Robotics Institute announced on August 19 that they have completed an "AI puppet theater robot" (photo) that uses deep learning to acquire emotional expression through Japanese puppet theater (Ningyo Joruri) movements.

This research is being conducted as part of efforts to develop robots capable of conveying the emotions necessary for forming natural relationships with humans, in anticipation of the future spread of household robots. The aim is to promote understanding of others by analyzing emotional expression.

In this project, the researchers used deep learning to reproduce puppet movements with a robot. The movements were those of Koryu Nishikawa of the "Koryu Nishikawa Troupe," performing Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo (one form of Ningyo Joruri and an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property), which is one form of puppet theater. The costume was created by Shin Sawai, a traditional craftsman from Hachioji.

While Ningyo Joruri Bunraku requires three puppeteers to operate a single puppet, Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo is performed by one puppeteer who sits on a wheeled box to manipulate the puppet.

The completed robot is an upper-body unit equipped with 32 rotational axes to reproduce the complex movements of Ningyo Joruri puppets, offering higher degrees of freedom than typical robots.