The technology behind PhotoRobot, an interactive Kinect-based installation

In this paper, PhotoRobot Kinect installation and its product development process are presented. The goal of the implemented system - introduced at the Node! exhibition of Budapest Design Week - was to create a communication initiating human-robot model; where the virtual robot character responds to human movement, expressing human-like affection via characteristic movement styles, namely action units. These were modelled with various states of appropriate pre-made animations, which varied according to changes in human movement, where continuous transition between animation states had to be taken into account. Action units were summed up in a state transition diagram. Human figure perception was achieved by Kinect. Real-time 3D graphics was chosen for visualization to achieve fast response time. PhotoRobot and it´s environment were modelled and textured in 3D design programs, then transformed into the 3D graphics engine. This communication initiating robot interaction predicts the ability of robotic emotional interaction in the long-term. The developed system could be used in the study of further human-machine gesture-based communication.