We are happy to announce that we have already filed two patents. Both are important for a strong expressiveness of a social robot.
We filed the first patent for a process that allows the robot to make better eye contact with the user. Eyes realized with conventional flat displays do not clearly identify the viewing direction. The so-called Mona-Lisa effect occurs, so that you never know exactly whether the robot is looking at you or not. We have found a way to shape the display surface three-dimensionally. In this way, it is always possible to see the exact viewing direction of the robot, just like with an eyeball.
The second patent protects a method with which the social robot can make the inner state clear through the way you move around. For example, you can see at first glance whether VIVA is tired. In addition, the procedure requires a lower footprint, which is always very helpful for smaller apartments. In addition, it becomes clear in which direction VIVA will move, which increases predictability and thus confidence.
Both skills are important for a good Social Robot and we don’t have any equivalent alternatives to our patented methods yet.