The social Robotplatform Probo

Abstract

The past four years a unique robot platform 'Probo' is developed to study cognitive Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). The robot Probo (Saldien, 2009) is designed to act as a social interface, providing a natural interaction while employing human-like social cues and communication modalities. The robot has a fully actuated head, with 20 degrees of freedom, capable of showing facial expressions. Probo embodies a stuffed imaginary animal, providing a soft touch and a huggable appearance. A Robot Control Centre (RCC) enables the operator to control the robot in shared autonomy with the cognitive control of the robot. These cognitive control systems include the simulation of attention, homeostasis, emotional state and the generation of lifelike motions. This project aims to study HRI and Robotic Assisted Therapy (RAT) with a special focus on hospitalized children, a field with growing attention in the robotics community.