Legged high-dexterity self-balancing capable robot actor

Abstract

A robot actor, or character mobility hardware platform, adapted to unleash or provide a wide variety of characters in the physical world. The robot actor enables the often screen-constrained characters to become life-like, interactive participants with nearby people in ways not presently achievable. The robot actor is an untethered, free-roaming robot that is has two (or more) legs, is adapted for high dexterity, is controlled and designed to be self-balancing, and, due to this combination of characteristics, the robot can provide characters with an illusion of life and, in many cases, in correct proportion and scale. The hardware and software of the robot actor will become a new generation of animatronic figures by providing a hardware platform capable of continuously evolving to become more capable through advances in controls and artificial intelligence (AI).

We claim: 
     
         1 . A robot for bringing characters to life in the physical world, comprising:
 movable components;   memory storing at least one of a set of gestures and a set of movements for each of a plurality of moods or emotions associated with one of a plurality of characters; and   a controller located onboard the robot,   wherein the robot is untethered and free-ranging in a physical space,   wherein the controller determines, in real time, a present mood or emotion associated with the robot,   wherein the controller selects one of the sets of gestures or one of the sets of movements based on the determined present mood or emotion for the one of the plurality of characters, and   wherein the controller operates a set of actuators to operate the movable components using the selected one of the sets of gestures or the sets of movements, whereby the robot is operated to provide an illusion of life for the one of the plurality of characters.   
     
     
         2 . The robot of  claim 1 , further comprising sensors for sensing input from the physical space and wherein the controller processes the input from the physical space to determine the present mood or emotion. 
     
     
         3 . The robot of  claim 1 , wherein the controller operates the sets of actuators by sequentially selecting, in real time, differing ones of the sets of gestures or the sets of movements to provide motion synthesis for the robot. 
     
     
         4 . The robot of  claim 3 , wherein the motion synthesis is configured to maintain balance of the robot as the robot moves in the physical space while performing the selected one of the sets of gestures or the sets of movements. 
     
     
         5 . The robot of  claim 3 , wherein the differing ones are selected based on the input from the physical space associated with a presence of one or more people in the physical space to cause the robot to interact with the one or more people. 
     
     
         6 . The robot of  claim 3 , wherein the controller generates, in real time and without external input, transitional movements and control signals for the set of actuators between each sequential pair of the sets of gestures or the sets of movements. 
     
     
         7 . The robot of  claim 5 , wherein the movements and the control signals are not defined in the sets of gestures or the sets of movements. 
     
     
         8 . A robot for bringing characters to life in the physical world, comprising:
 movable components;   memory storing a set of scripts defining a set of movements for each of a plurality of characters, wherein the set of movements associated with each of the plurality of characters is unique; and   a controller located onboard the robot,   wherein the robot is untethered and free-ranging in a physical space,   wherein the controller is operated to animate the robot in a manner associated with one of the plurality of characters and, in response, to use the set of scripts from the memory associated with the one of the plurality of characters, and   wherein the controller operates a set of actuators on the robot to operate the movable components using the set of movements defined in the set of scripts associated with the one of the plurality of characters.   
     
     
         9 . The robot of  claim 8 , further comprising sensors for sensing input from the physical space and wherein the controller processes the input from the physical space to determine a next movement to perform in the set of movements defined in the set of scripts associated with the one of the plurality of characters. 
     
     
         10 . The robot of  claim 9 , wherein the set of scripts for the one of the plurality of characters includes a subset of scripts associated with a mood or emotion, wherein the controller processes the input from the physical space to determine a present mood or emotion for the one of the plurality of characters, and, in response, to perform the subset of scripts associated with a mood or emotion matching the present mood or emotion. 
     
     
         11 . The robot of  claim 8 , wherein the controller operates the sets of actuators by sequentially selecting, in real time, differing movements from the sets of movements defined in the set of scripts associated with the one of the plurality of characters to provide motion synthesis for the robot while maintaining balance of the robot in the physical space. 
     
     
         12 . The robot of  claim 11 , wherein the controller generates, in real time and without external input, transitional movements for the set of actuators between each sequential pair of the differing movements. 
     
     
         13 . A robot for bringing characters to life in the physical world, comprising:
 movable components;   data storage storing a first performance plan and a first portable character model both associated with a first one of the characters, wherein the first performance plan defines actions to be performed by the robot and wherein the first portable character model defines how the actions are to be performed based on an identity of the first one of the characters; and   a controller located onboard the robot,   wherein the controller operates a set of actuators to operate the movable components using the first performance plan to perform the actions based on the first portable character model, whereby the robot is operated to provide a set of movements in a manner associated with the first one of the characters.   
     
     
         14 . The robot of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is operated to receive, or access from a library, a second performance plan and a second portable character model both associated with a second one of the characters and wherein the controller operates the set of actuators to operate the movable components using the second performance plan to perform the actions based on the second portable character model, whereby the robot is operated to provide a second set of movements, differing from the set of movements, in a manner associated with the second one of the characters 
     
     
         15 . The robot of  claim 14 , wherein the actions in the first and second performance plans include a gesture and wherein the set of movements performed by the robot differs to perform the gesture based on whether the controller is using the first portable character model or the second portable character model. 
     
     
         16 . The robot of  claim 13 , wherein the first portable character model defines the set of movements to perform the actions with a body language associated with the first one of the characters. 
     
     
         17 . The robot of  claim 13 , wherein the first portable character model defines for each of a plurality of moods and emotions how the actions are to be performed by the robot, wherein the controller is programmed to select one of the moods or emotions for the first one of the characters, and, in response, to perform the actions based on the selected one of the moods or emotions. 
     
     
         18 . The robot of  claim 13 , further comprising sensors for sensing input from the physical space and wherein the controller processes the input from the physical space to determine a next action to perform from the actions defined in the first performance plan. 
     
     
         19 . The robot of  claim 8 , wherein the controller operates the sets of actuators by sequentially selecting, in real time, differing movements defined in the first portable character model to provide motion synthesis for the robot while maintaining balance of the robot in the physical space. 
     
     
         20 . The robot of  claim 19 , wherein the controller generates, in real time and without external input, transitional movements for the set of actuators between each sequential pair of the differing movements.