Workshop on Enabling Rich, Expressive Robot Animation

HRI researchers and practitioners often need to generate complex, rich, expressive movement from machines to facilitate effective interaction. Techniques often include live puppeteering via Wizard-of-Oz setups, sympathetic interfaces, or custom control software. Often, animation is accomplished by playing back pre-rendered movement sequences generated by offline animators, puppeteers, or actors providing input to motion capture systems. Roboticists have also explored real-time parametric animation, affected motion planning, mechanical motion design, or blends of offline and live methods. Generating robot animation is not always straightforward and can be time consuming, costly, or even counter-productive when human-robot interaction breaks down due to inadequate animation. This workshop addresses a need to compare the various approaches to animating robots, to identify when particular techniques are most appropriate, and explore opportunities for further experimentation and tool-building.