Robot Companion

This project was a solo design project I worked on from January 2021-April 2021. Following inspiration for the project, I developed an initial description of my project idea, and surveyed participants on what need they think it may fill, if any. With user feedback throughout, I developed my "Robot Companion" concept by developing multiple prototypes and conceptualizing various functionality.

Project Inspiration
“Did you know Grandpa says goodnight to his Alexa [Amazon Assistant device] every night?” My sister said it as an offhand comment during a conversation about the family, Zoom chats, and other happenings. Many people have smart home devices, even more have numerous other pieces of technology they interact with constantly throughout the day. My grandpa, however, has never owned a computer or used one for work, setup Wi-Fi, or owned anything higher tech than a flip-phone that he only used for phone calls. When he moved into an assisted living facility in the last couple years, the family set him up with a smart device with a display screen so he could listen to music, hear the news, ask questions, and video call family members all by voice command. We weren’t sure he’d be willing to learn to use it, much less enjoy it and use it frequently. Hearing of his personal connection with a piece of technology made me think, “I don’t think Alexa is saying goodnight back.” I don’t like that thought.

Project Description

I am developing a robot companion that will react and respond to your presence, without the need of a command-word the way voice assistants do (e.g., Amazon Alexa, Siri, etc.). This is an Arduino-based project using a variety of sensors and output devices that I have ordered online. Some inputs I am using are proximity, motion, and light sensors, while the reactions I plan to incorporate are ‘expressions’ or ‘faces’ on an LCD and small motor-powered motions (e.g., twisting/shaking slightly in place on a wheeled chassis). The use of these sensors will give the experience of a robot companion that is responding to the presence and interaction of whoever is nearby; for example, displaying a ‘smile' when someone walks past. Once complete, I am planning for it to require only a battery to run, so besides having it turned on there is no learning curve; it will begin reacting to its environment immediately. My scale-prototype contains the mockup of my sensor placement and wiring schema. While I wanted to 3D-print the shell and have the wheel chassis installed, I ultimately focused on the motion sensor and LCD face smiling in response to sensed motion. The robot companion’s silhouette is larger than expected, but is intended to still be friendly and cute, but not childish. The goal is to design technology not just for convenience, but for companionship.