Everyday robot

Every year, robots increasingly penetrate into various spheres of human activity. Indeed, in comparison with computers and mobile devices, more interactive, mobile and social functions can be put into the robot. For example, in addition to reading the mail, reminders of upcoming meetings and organizing a video call, your home robot will be able to clean your apartment, bring a cup of hot coffee, feed the dog or water the flowers.
Today, the market of service and personal robots directly interacting with humans is considered promising. Modern robots already know how to conduct excursions in museums, entertain the public, advertise new products, advise clients, protect territories, serve the elderly, deliver mail. In the near future, as the development of artificial intelligence, popularization of robots and cheapening their production, they will become good friends and helpers for each person.
We are a team that develops a ToD service robot. In a series of articles on Habré we will talk about the progress of our work, the internal structure of the robot and its capabilities. Step by step, you will see how an ordinary platform on wheels will turn into a real robot equipped with manipulator hands, range finders, Kinect camera, interactive screens, and supporting autonomous navigation, voice control, telepresence and recognition of faces and objects.
In the first introductory article, we will try to answer the question of what functions should a service robot have? Consider some of the applications of such robots and a number of interesting models on the market.

Product Promotion and Promotion

Developing a business in a modern, highly competitive environment is not an easy task requiring creative approach. The sophisticated buyer is not much surprised, and few people pay attention to simple advertising. A robot promoter is a new way to stand out among competitors, increase public interest and make an advertising campaign more effective. Such a robot will be the focus of presentations, exhibitions, conferences and any public event.

Robot Advee - a member of the advertising company HTC
First of all, the robot promoter attracts the public with its unusual and friendly appearance and wide multimedia capabilities. The growth of the robot is usually close to human, which allows him to communicate with the person "on an equal footing". The case can be painted in company colors with the logo on the chest and hung with pockets for advertising booklets, and the shape of the case and the layout of individual elements resemble the appearance of a person. Some models can boast the presence of hand-manipulators, a printer with the ability to print on the fly advertising products, mini-machine with soda or other original service. One or several touch screens are used to display advertising information of various formats: commercials, presentations, interactive maps and catalogs, questionnaires and questionnaires or mini-games.

Japanese robot An9-PR with colorful design and rich multimedia capabilities
In standalone mode, the robot promoter besides the ability to independently navigate in space using the camera and range finders, there are functions to greet familiar passersby, send advertising materials to phones, pronunciation of replicas in the best traditions of Bender from Futurama, or conduct full-fledged dialogues, express emotions gestures (in the presence of hand-manipulators or other moving parts of the body). And although all these “electronic habits” are interesting in their own way, traditional means of communication remain the most natural for humans. Therefore, few models of a promoter robot do without a remote operator control mode intended for live communication via video calling.

Office robot

An office robot is able to bring new colors to ordinary working days and become a full-fledged member of the working team. Most models of office robots are positioned on the market as telepresence robots. Their main goal is to create a plausible effect of a person’s being in a room, which can be achieved by using several means of communication at once: a monitor, a camera, a microphone, feedback sensors or hand-manipulators. With such a robot, you can remotely work, participate in conferences or control the workflow in the office.

Robot teleprinting iRobot Ava 500 with a large screen and the ability to transfer HD-quality video
Robots in this category support various remote control tools: computers, smartphones and tablets, IR consoles and set-top boxes. Often, this versatility can be achieved through the use of a web server, which can be connected via a standard Internet browser. Strict requirements are imposed on the quality of video conferencing.
Another category of office robots is characterized by greater autonomy and the availability of useful intellectual functions. Agree, at least, it will be fun to have a robotized assistant in the office who will greet employees with various remarks, carry coffee and cookies, strongly remind you of the inevitability of the deadline, tell jokes during the break (about office plankton, yes) and conduct other socially attractive activities .

A miniature office robot EMIEW-2 with an original adaptive suspension is able to independently build a room map and find items
Navigation of office robots can be done manually, in standalone or combined modes. For example, the operator can set the final point of arrival, and the robot itself will pave the way for its achievement. After the battery is discharged, it will return to the base for recharging. The autonomous navigation feature will be especially useful in large office spaces.
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Scientific research

An autonomous robot must have the ability to make decisions and truthfully play the role intended for it. Today, many scientific institutes conduct research in the field of AI, and the robot becomes a suitable platform for experimental confirmation of scientific hypotheses and development of intelligent algorithms. Tasks, the implementation of which for a person is not difficult, for the robot can be of great difficulty. Recognition of objects, capture and movement of objects, building a map of the room and navigation - there are many unsolved scientific problems in the field of intellectual robotics.

Willow Garage PR2 playing billiards
The most functional and, unfortunately, the most expensive solution for research can be called Willow Garage PR2 model. The used PR2 operating system ROS provides hardware abstractions, device drivers, an extensive set of ready-made libraries, simulators, a package management system, and other tools that allow scientists without inventing bicycles to focus on the research task. Libraries of visual and navigation algorithms, in the development of which the best universities of the world are taking part, are in open access. PR2 already knows how to open doors, fold towels, play billiards and treat you to beer. With the help of the community formed around the PR2, scientists can share their work and receive confirmation of their results in the scientific community.

Willow Garage PR2 Developer Community

Robot - man's friend

A person by nature tries to avoid routine and devote more time to communication, creativity and entertainment. A robot is a candidate number 1 for ridding a person of a large part of the routine. Even today, robots with basic service and social skills can make human life more comfortable and more interesting.
As can be seen from our short review, the appearance, functionality and cost of service robots vary greatly, and the scope of application is strictly limited. But is it possible to make an inexpensive multifunctional robot that will feel confident in the roles of a consultant, promoter, home servant or a “virtual” office worker? Developed by our team, the ToD robot is positioned as a multifunctional software and hardware platform that can solve the main range of tasks in the areas of service and social interaction of the robot with humans. Our robot should be interesting not only to potential buyers and tenants of the finished product, but also to the developer community. We initially assume the possibility of customization of the software and hardware of the robot. The robot can be assembled literally "from scratch" or you can order a basic model from us, which can be customized to solve your problems.
In the next article, we will tell you about the implementation of the ToD robot motion control functions, visualization of wheel odometry sensor data and ultrasonic sonars. Stay tuned.