Atsushi Masumori,Norihiro Maruyama and Takashi Ikegami
URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2020.532375/full
Original Abstract: In this study, we report the investigations conducted on the mimetic behavior of a new humanoid robot called Alter3. Alter3 autonomously imitates the motions of a person in front of it and stores the motion sequences in its memory. Alter3 also uses a self-simulator to simulate its own motions before executing them and generates a self-image. If the visual perception (of a person's motion being imitated) and the imitating self-image differ significantly, Alter3 retrieves a motion sequence closer to the target motion from its memory and executes it. We investigate how this mimetic behavior develops interacting with human, by analyzing memory dynamics and information flow between Alter3 and a interacting person. One important observation from this study is that when Alter3 fails to imitate a person's motion, the person tend to imitate Alter3 instead. This tendency is quantified by the alternation of the direction of information flow. This spontaneous role-switching behavior between a human and Alter3 is a way to initiate personality formation (i.e., personogenesis) in Alter3.
Summary (EN): Analyzes the imitative behavior of the humanoid robot Alter3, which autonomously mimics and stores human motions and uses a self-simulator to generate a self-image, retrieving closer motions from memory when imitation fails. Notably, when Alter3 fails to imitate a person, the person tends to imitate Alter3 instead—a reversal of information-flow direction that initiates personality formation ("personogenesis").
概要（日本語）: ヒューマノイドロボットAlter3の模倣行動を分析。Alter3は目の前の人の動きを自律的に模倣・記憶し、自己シミュレータで自分の動きを予測して自己像を生成する。知覚と自己像が大きくずれると、記憶からより近い動きを呼び出して実行する。注目すべき観察として、Alter3が模倣に失敗すると人間の側がAlter3を模倣し始める傾向があり、この情報流の方向の交替（自発的な役割交代）が人格形成（personogenesis）の端緒となる。
