The huggable robot probo: design of the robotic head

Abstract

Probo is a social robot intended to be used with children in a hospital environment. Its operational goals are to provide children with information, moral support and comfort in a possible difficult time. This paper reports on the early stages in the development of the expressive huggable robot Probo with potential applications for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and Robot-Assisted Therapy (RAT). Drawing on research in social communication, the robot-head, capable of displaying basic emotions, is designed and the design is compared with that of other social robots such as Kismet, Eddie and iCat. Some design criteria and their influence on the actual design are highlighted. This leads to a 17 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) modular non-anthropomorphic soft actuated robotic head.