Care-O-bot 4 Robot Makes the Future of the Domestic Robot Seem Even Closer

 Robotics  

With the latest version of the Fraunhofer Institute's Care-O-bot robot, the promise of a domestic robot seems much closer. The robot packs a lot of personality and functionality into its tightly designed platform.

The dream of a robot server and companion in your home is now a little closer thanks to a team of engineers and designers in Germany led by Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA with the Stuttgart-based design studios Phoenix Design and Schunk.

Since the late 1990's, the researchers have been developing the Care-O-bot model modular domestic robot.  Now, with the fourth iteration, the system is really beginning to take shape in a robot with, what very nearly might be called, a personality. The model is a significant step vs. the previous Care-O-bot version 3.

"The fourth generation of the Care-O-bot is not only more agile, modular and charming than its predecessors, but it also stands out through the use of cost-reducing construction principles,” explains Dr Ulrich Reiser, Project and Group Leader at Fraunhofer IPA.

Very similar to a Jibo robot on top, the Care-O-bot 4 is based on its modular system design.

The robot can be equipped with one, two or no arms at all. The patented spherical joints on the robot’s neck and hips are optional.

The joint in the hip provides a lot of functionality to Care-O-bot, enabling the robot to bend over to pick up low items as in the video below:

If you need Care-O-bot to serve drinks, one hand can be replaced by a tray, or the mobile base platform can be used on its own as a serving trolley.

"Care-O-bot 4 is a successful symbiosis of design and engineering, as well as functionality and emotion, which quickly encourages user interaction."

Individual robot platforms can be configured for a wide range of applications: a mobile information center in museums, DIY stores and airports, for collection and delivery services in homes and offices, for security applications or as museum robots at attractions.

The team's research has shown that social behavior is essential for the acceptance of interactive service robots. As with previous generations, social role models were used as a guiding vision in developing the design and functionality. Like Rethink Robotic's Baxter, Care-O-bot uses a display integrated in its head that projects a face appropriate to the situation. Care-O-bot 4 is able to display different atmospheres.

“Care-O-bot 4 is a successful symbiosis of design and engineering, as well as functionality and emotion, which quickly encourages user interaction.” states Andreas Haug, co-Founder and Managing Director of Phoenix Design, adds.

The designers and programmers took the social nature to heart. While the concept for the Care-O-bot 3 was a more reserved, cautious butler, its successor is as courteous, friendly, and affable as a gentleman.  For an example of this, check out how the robot appears to happily wave its arms as it rolls along.

The robot's developers see Care-O-bot being used in a variety of situations.  In the home, Care-O-bot 4 is the product vision of a mobile robot assistant to actively support people in their daily life. It can be used for a variety of household tasks from delivering food and drinks, to helping with cooking or for cleaning.

In service situations, from supporting patients and personnel in health care institutions, to waiting on tables in restaurants, to use in reception and room service in hotels.

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Care-O-bot 4 also has potential in industrial applications such as shelf-picking and commissioning in warehouses or loading and unloading of machines in manufacturing environments. The base module can also be used for transportation tasks.

Care-O-bot 4 features multi-modal user input: touchscreen, microphones, and speakers. Head cameras enable human robot interaction solutions based on a graphical user interface and gesture recognition. Care-O-bot‘s state can be signaled back to the user through LEDs, sounds, text-to-speech, laser pointer, and body gestures.

The robot is shipped with Open Source drivers and is powered by the Open Source Robot Operating System (ROS). ROS allows Care-O-bot 4 to use a wide range of highly capable service robot components from the field of navigation, manipulation, and perception. Developers can benefit from the powerful simulation and visualization tools which are available for free within the Open Source Care-O-bot packages.

As far as when the Care-O-bot might be in your home, the platform is still probably still on the research and development side of the fence, but if the team keeps progressing, Care-O-bot 5 might just crack into the consumer marketplace.




SOURCE  Fraunhofer IPA

By 33rd Square

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