Hinhrob: A performance robot for glove puppetry

Abstract

China’s intangible cultural heritage glove puppetry is a thousand-year form of performance. However, this ancient cultural and artistic treasures are faced with difficulties of protection and inheritance. Our approach is to integrate robotics with the glove puppetry, design and develop the glove puppetry robot HinHRob. It simulates the performances of puppeteers and interacts with the audience in real-time. The robot not only can perform with professional puppeteers but also attract interest from audiences of different cultural backgrounds and ages. The creative approach of combining technology and the intangible cultural heritage may open a new mode for the ancient human legacy, the glove puppetry.