Production of Character Animation in a Home Robot: A Case Study of LOVOT

Abstract

This is a case study focused on the development of LOVOT, a consumer home robot that went on sale in 2019. Since its unveiling in 2018, approximately 20,000 people have visited the LOVOT demonstration event as of the end of July 2019. In practical terms, LOVOT lives at home with the user long-term, similar to a companion animal; LOVOT performs continuous natural motion for user comfort. We applied movements using professional animator techniques based on the principles of traditional animation to LOVOT. We have identified specific practical techniques in home robot animation through iterative prototyping in our synergetic development of character animation techniques and tools. In this paper, we introduce our practical methods to develop many behaviors in a single robotic agent and is the collaborative efforts of a group of people with diverse professional backgrounds. Furthermore, we summarize how traditional techniques of character animation were applied, and new techniques were required from the perspective of professional animators.