Emotion Estimation Using Laban Feature Values Based on a Multi-scale Kinesphere

Laban’s theory, which was originally proposed for body expression, describes the relationships between body movements and emotions. In our previous study, we proposed our original Laban feature values and demonstrated their effectiveness in estimating emotions. However, they have a limitation in that they were only effective in certain situations. To solve the limitation, we propose novel Laban feature values based on the size of the kinesphere (movable range of the body). We estimated emotions with Laban feature values. The results show the importance of the small kinesphere, which comprises the shoulders, back, and waist. This study shows the shoulders’ critical influence in the accurate estimation of emotions, suggesting that the central body regions are integral to expressing emotional expressions.