Telepresence Childcare Robot for Playing with Children from a Remote Location

Abstract

In this study, we develop a prototype telepresence childcare robot, which will aid childcare by facilitating interactions between a young child and a remote person. Because the robot interacts with a young child, safety measures and an ability to maintain the attention of a child are important considerations. We design a robot with a focus on safety and physical play, and propose the use of a semi-autonomous child tracking method. Finally, we perform a preliminary test, which indicates that this robot can maintain a child's attention for longer than a general video-chat system.