In the context of avatar-mediated communication, it is crucial for the face-to-face interlocutor to sense the operator's presence and emotions via the avatar. Although androids resembling humans have been developed to convey presence through appearance and movement, few studies have prioritized deepening the communication experience for both operator and interlocutor using android robot as an avatar. Addressing this gap, we introduce the ``Cybernetic Avatar `Yui','' featuring a human-like head unit with 28 degrees of freedom, capable of expressing gaze, facial emotions, and speech-related mouth movements. Through an eye-tracking unit in a Head-Mounted Display (HMD) and degrees of freedom on both eyes of Yui, operators can control the avatar's gaze naturally. Additionally, microphones embedded in Yui's ears allow operators to hear surrounding sounds in three dimensions, enabling them to discern the direction of calls based solely on auditory information. An HMD's face-tracking unit synchronizes the avatar's facial movements with those of the operator. This immersive interface, coupled with Yui's human-like appearance, enables real-time emotion transmission and communication, enhancing the sense of presence for both parties. Our experiments demonstrate Yui's facial expression capabilities, and validate the system's efficacy through teleoperation trials, suggesting potential advancements in avatar technology.

翻译：在化身中介通信的背景下，面对面对话者通过化身感知操作者的存在感和情绪至关重要。尽管已有开发出外形类似人类的机器人通过外表和动作传达存在感，但少有研究优先考虑使用人形机器人作为化身来深化操作者与对话者双方的沟通体验。为此，我们提出了“赛博化身‘Yui’”，其配备具有28个自由度的类人头部单元，能够表达视线、面部情绪以及与语音相关的嘴部动作。通过头戴式显示器（HMD）中的眼动追踪单元及Yui双眼的自由度，操作者可以自然地控制化身的视线。此外，Yui耳内嵌入的麦克风使得操作者能够听到三维空间中的周围声音，从而仅凭听觉信息辨别呼唤方向。HMD的面部追踪单元可同步化身的表情与操作者的面部动作。这一沉浸式接口与Yui的类人外观相结合，实现了实时情绪传递与沟通，增强了双方的存在感。我们的实验展示了Yui的面部表情能力，并通过远程操控试验验证了系统的有效性，预示着化身技术可能取得进展。