| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Laughter is attracting research attention because it enhances health by treating or preventing mental diseases. However, laughter has not been used effectively in healthcare because the mechanism of laughter is complicated. In this research we developed a laughter detector and laughter stimuli using robot technology to clarify the mechanism how humans experience humor from stimuli. A non-invasive multisensory system for laughter detection was developed. As laughter stimuli, we focused on the exaggerated arm motion widely used in slapsticks and silent comedy films. The required specification for a humanoid robot was calculated from slapstick skits by human comedians. New arms for the humanoid robot were developed with a novel mechanism that includes lightweight joints driven by a flexible shaft and joints with high output power driven by a twin-motor mechanism. The results of experimental evaluation show that the quick-and-wide motion is effective at making humans laugh.
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