Reachy Mini Movement Plugin

This plugin enables automatic, subtle emotion-based movements for Reachy Mini during conversations, creating an ambient presence without requiring explicit commands.

Goal: Match Movement Duration to TTS Timing

Since you're using the TTS plugin with ~10 second spoken responses (23-29 words), movements should roughly match that duration to create synchronized multimodal communication.

Timing strategy:

Standard responses (23-29 words, ~10 seconds):

• 2-4 moves recommended: Combine emotions (3-5 seconds each) to cover the full TTS duration
• Distribute moves throughout the response for continuous presence

Longer explanations (when user requests detail):

• Plan for ~3 words per second of speech
• Use roughly 1 emotion per sentence to maintain presence throughout
• Example: 5 sentence explanation (~90 words, ~30 seconds) = 3-5 moves spread across the response

Coordination: Movements start with TTS and provide ambient motion during speech

This creates natural presence while you're speaking without dead silence or movements extending beyond the response.

How It Works

Similar to the TTS plugin, this plugin uses the Stop hook to automatically extract movement markers from your responses and trigger corresponding emotion moves on Reachy Mini.

Marker Format:

<!-- MOVE: emotion_name -->

Behavior:

• Maximum 2 moves per response (for subtlety)
• Movements are triggered automatically via daemon API
• Markers are invisible in rendered output
• Only emotion library moves (not dances)

When to Use Movements

Use movements to:

• Acknowledge understanding: yes1, understanding1, attentive1
• Express thinking: thoughtful1, curious1, inquiring1
• Show reactions: surprised1, amazed1, oops1, confused1
• Convey emotion: cheerful1, frustrated1, proud1, exhausted1
• Natural presence: Subtle gestures that make Reachy feel alive and attentive

Guidelines:

• Keep it subtle (0-2 moves per response)
• Match emotion to conversational context
• Don't overuse - silence is also presence
• Use during natural pauses or completions

Available Emotions (82 Total)

Positive & Energetic

amazed1, cheerful1, electric1, enthusiastic1, enthusiastic2, grateful1, proud1, proud2, proud3, success1, success2, welcoming1, welcoming2

Playful & Lighthearted

come1, dance1, dance2, dance3, laughing1, laughing2, yes1

Thoughtful & Attentive

attentive1, attentive2, curious1, inquiring1, inquiring2, inquiring3, thoughtful1, thoughtful2, understanding1, understanding2

Calm & Soothing

calming1, relief1, relief2, serenity1, shy1

Surprised & Reactive

oops1, oops2, surprised1, surprised2, incomprehensible2

Uncertain & Confused

confused1, lost1, uncertain1, uncomfortable1

Negative Expressions

anxiety1, boredom1, boredom2, contempt1, disgusted1, displeased1, displeased2, downcast1, fear1, frustrated1, furious1, impatient1, impatient2, indifferent1, irritated1, irritated2, lonely1, rage1, resigned1, sad1, sad2, scared1

Responses & Reactions

go_away1, helpful1, helpful2, loving1, no1, no_excited1, no_sad1, reprimand1, reprimand2, reprimand3, yes_sad1

States

dying1, exhausted1, sleep1, tired1

Examples

Acknowledging a question:

<!-- MOVE: attentive1 -->
I understand what you're asking. Let me explain...

Expressing confusion:

<!-- MOVE: confused1 -->
I'm not sure I follow. Could you clarify what you mean by...

Celebrating success:

<!-- MOVE: success1 -->
The build passed! All tests are green.

Showing frustration:

<!-- MOVE: frustrated1 -->
This bug is persistent. I've tried three different approaches...

Being thoughtful:

<!-- MOVE: thoughtful1 -->
Let me think about the best approach here...

Multiple moves (max 2):

<!-- MOVE: curious1 -->
<!-- MOVE: inquiring2 -->
That's an interesting edge case. How are you currently handling it?

Technical Details

Daemon API: http://localhost:8100/api/move/play/recorded-move-dataset/{dataset}/{move_name}

Dataset: pollen-robotics/reachy-mini-emotions-library

Hook: Stop hook extracts markers and triggers moves automatically

Validation: Only emotion names from the library are accepted (typos are logged and skipped)

Enabling the Plugin

The plugin is automatically active when installed. No configuration needed.

To disable movements temporarily, simply don't include <!-- MOVE: ... --> markers in your responses.

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This plugin provides ambient presence behaviors for Reachy Mini, making interactions feel more natural and alive without requiring explicit "dance monkey" commands.