Design of a mixed reality workspace for an expressive humanoid robot

Abstract

The MIT Media Laboratory Robotic Life Group's Leonardo is a highly expressive robot used for, among other things, social learning and human-robot teamwork research. A mixed reality workspace was conceived to aid in experimentation and demonstration of human-robot interaction by providing a complex state space and several interaction possibilities. A box concept was selected for its ability to incorporate several interaction mechanisms while allowing for meaningful physical tasks. A first iteration of the system was completed, which was controllable primarily through serial communication with a computer, while providing minimal physical communication. For a second revision of the system, physical interaction devices were developed which could be actuated by either the robot or a human, so as to better explore social interaction. Further development of the project will yield a robust, flexible and expandable tool with which future robot social learning and teamwork research can be performed.