Mechanical Design of a Humanoid Robotic Head for Human Robot Interaction

The emerging demand for robots that can interact naturally and effectively with humans in modern environments such as healthcare, service industries, and personal assistance highlights the need for developing expressive humanoid robotic heads. These heads should integrate advanced mechanical designs and control systems to achieve lifelike human interactions and movements. This paper details the development of a humanoid robotic head, with a primary focus on the structural design to achieve a humanlike appearance and the implementation of an advanced neck mechanism. Two conceptual designs of a neck mechanism based on Spherical Parallel Manipulators were proposed and compared on the basis of compactness, the provided workspace, and the required motor torques. 3-RRR SPM mechanism proved to be the most suitable for the application. A human face structure and a neck mechanism were hence proposed.

I. INTRODUCTION

The advancement of humanoid robots is a pivotal area of interest and opportunity in research. Several research studies have concentrated on the development of the structure of the humanoids or on the optimization of actuation technologies [1]. However, a noteworthy advancement in this domain is the development of expressive robotics, which significantly enhances robots’ interactive capabilities by augmenting their physical realism and engagement potential. This increased expressiveness not only enhances the overall user experience but also paves the way for applications in diverse sectors such as healthcare [2], education, customer service [3], and companionship.