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Museum Robots
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Have you ever heard of a robot playing ball with children? With the new generation of entertainment robots developed at Fraunhofer IPA, this and other exciting possibilities become reality. Since March 17th, 2000, three mobile robots have been the main attraction of the newly re-opened Museum für Kommunikation in Berlin, Germany. Besides playing ball, they welcome visitors to enter the museum and give guided tours.
Basic FeaturesHardwareThe entertainment robots have been designed based on the successful hardware and software architecture of Care-O-bot. The mobile vehicles are equipped with two driven wheels (differential drive) including shaft encoders for motion tracking. The robots are able to move at a speed of up to 1.2 m/s. Four castor wheels are further used for keeping the robots upright. A gyroscope is integrated to the robot platforms to track their current orientations. A 2D laser scanner is attached to the front of each robot. It is used for self-localization, navigation, and obstacle detection. Additional safety sensors are a bumper at the bottom of the robots and several infrared sensors which are integrated in the bumper facing upwards. These sensors are used to detect obstacles above the scanning level of the laser scanner. Besides software restricting the allowed operation area, a magnetic sensor facing towards the ground is used as a secondary system to prevent the robots from leaving their assigned area. This area is defined by a magnetic band lowered to the ground. Activating one of the safety sensors as well as pressing either of the emergency stop buttons stops the robot immediately. Being equipped with several long lasting batteries the robots are able to move independently for up to ten hours without interruption. Autonomous Navigation'Where am I?' This is an important question for mobile robots. The entertainment robots are capable of fully autonomous navigation. They use their laser scanner to determine their position and to surround obstacles in their way. Thus, they know how to find their way around and can even ask people to go out of their way when necessary. User InterfaceThe robots integrate automatic self-test, start-up, and shutdown capabilities and can therefore easily be operated by untrained personnel. After they are turned on, the robots perform an automatic self-test of sensors, drives and correct localization. The status of the robots is reported by speech output. For example, after the self-test, the robots say 'Self-test completed successfully. To start the operation, press the 'start' button'. The 'start' and 'stop' buttons on the Joystick are all that is needed to control the robots during normal daily operation. When the 'stop' button is pressed twice, the robot will automatically drive to its charging position and shut itself down. Remote Control and DiagnosisAside from Joystick controlled operation, the robots can be also be driven using a stationary PC. The PC communicates with the robots via radio ethernet and gives an up-to-date overview of their position and status. Using the radio ethernet and a telephone or internet connection, a detailed remote diagnosis of the running robots is possible. This allows, for example, to easily adapt the parameters which determine robot behavior according to customer wishes. Also via radio ethernet, the robots communicate with each other and show cooperative behaviors.
Robot CharactersEach robot has a specific character, expressed through its looks and appearance (driving speed, voice etc.). The robots also differ in what information they give to museum visitors:
The "Inciting" (KOMM-REIN) acts as an entertainer. His main task is to welcome as many visitors as possible. Whenever he 'sees' new visitors, he drives toward them and warmly welcomes them to the museum. A distinction between single persons and groups is made. The Inciting can also give up-to-date information about special events and exhibitions. The visitors are identified individually by the shape of their legs. From the data provided by the laser scanner, the characteristic shapes and diameters of a person's legs and the distances between them are assessed using fuzzy logic. Further features, for example the temporary focusing on individual visitors, the storing of positions of persons who have already been welcomed as well as a strategy for detecting new persons, guarantee most correct manners from the robot.
The "Instructive" (ALSO-GUT) is a little introvert. She gives a guided tour in the museum, especially outlining the history of the museum. While doing this she moves her head so that she 'looks' at the exhibits she is talking about. On her screen she shows pictures and videos which underline the explanations. For this operation mode, operation programs which have been written in the 'Mobile Vehicle Command Language' (MVCL), a language developed by Fraunhofer IPA, are executed on the robot. These operation programs are used to synchronize different motion commands with movements of the screen axis of the robot or with the execution of different kinds of multimedia files.
The "Twiddling" (MACH-WAS) represents a child in its actions and expression. It is playing with a ball and does not bother to do anything serious. The visitors and especially children are welcome to join its ball game. The Twiddling continuously emits blubbering sounds which express its current feelings. It is happy as long as it can play with its ball, but can get sad if visitors hide the ball from its view. The Twiddling detects the big gymnastic ball by using its laser scanner. By analyzing the laser scanner data, changes in the shape of the ball can be determined. This prevents the robot from bumping into visitors. If the robot cannot find the ball, it moves around at random and searches for the ball.
DownloadImagesImages may be used for editorial purposes only. There is no charge for usage, provided there is a reference to the source in the publication and two free copies of the publication are sent to Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart. Alterating the images - except for highlighting the main motif - is not permitted. Copyright for all museum robot images: Museum für Kommunikation Berlin
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