Bluetooth Low Energy for Autonomous Human-Robot Interaction

Abstract

This demonstration shows how inexpensive, off-the-shelf, and unobtrusive Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices can be utilized for enabling robots to recognize touch gestures, to perceive proximity information, and to distinguish between interacting individuals autonomously. The received signal strength (RSS) between the BLE device attached to the robot and BLE devices attached to the interacting individuals is used to achieve this. Almost no software configuration is needed and the setup can be applied to most everyday environments and robot platforms.