Division of Integrative Systems and DesignHKUST
RMDLABRobotics and Material Design LabPHYSICAL PRINCIPLES · ROBOTIC POSSIBILITIES
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ISDN 4000X · SPRING 2026

Life-like Robot Design

A fourth-year studio course about making robotic motion feel expressive, intentional and alive.

A life-like robotic face prototype with servo-actuated eyes, eyebrows, mouth and jaw
A modular face turns mechanism design, control and expression into one visible system.

THE DESIGN QUESTION

How can a robot move in a way that appears expressive, intentional and life-like?

Students learn by building a face whose mechanical choices are immediately visible. A small change in trajectory, timing or coordination can turn a natural expression into an uncanny one. The course therefore connects mechanism design, electronics, programming and artistic judgement through one demanding physical system.

PHASE 01

Replicate and understand

Teams first reproduce an open-source robotic human face. They build the eye, eyelid, eyebrow and mouth modules, study how servo rotation becomes a desired feature trajectory, integrate roughly 30–40 actuators where appropriate, and program smooth target expressions.

PHASE 02

Redesign and perform

Each team then creates an original human, animal or animated face or creature. Students redesign mechanisms for its anatomy, add expressive features such as ears or whiskers, coordinate its motion and finish with a choreographed face dance synchronized to music.

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

From one moving joint to an expressive machine.

01

Mechanism and motion

Translate desired eye, eyelid, eyebrow and mouth trajectories into linkages, joints and constraints.

02

Actuators and transmission

Select and use servo motors with an understanding of torque, speed, range, gearing and positional control.

03

Hardware integration

Resolve mounting, collision, wiring, power distribution, calibration and repeatability across many actuators.

04

Coordinated control

Program interpolation, timing, sequencing and continuous transitions rather than isolated motor commands.

05

Life-like expression

Use rhythm, asymmetry, exaggeration and recovery to make an intended emotion readable.

06

Creative robotic design

Develop, justify and communicate a new robotic character through hardware, software and performance.

THIRTEEN-WEEK ARC

A shared foundation, then an open design challenge.

  1. WEEKS 1–3Motion foundations and expressive eyes

    Servo control, linkage trajectories, eyeball motion, eyelids and gaze.

  2. WEEKS 4–6Eyebrows, mouth and head integration

    Facial feature mechanisms, assembly, interference, wiring and calibration.

  3. WEEKS 7–8Coordinated motion

    Multi-servo electronics, continuous transitions and target expressions.

  4. WEEKS 9–12Original face or creature

    Proposal, mechanism redesign, fabrication, software integration and choreography.

  5. WEEK 13Robotic face performance

    Design explanation, expression demonstration and music-synchronized face dance.

ASSESSMENT

Technical reliability and expressive quality carry equal weight.

20%Individual mechanisms, programming and lab work

25%Open-source face replica and target expressions

45%Custom robotic face and final performance

10%Individual design reflection and contribution record