Systems Overview of Ono: A DIY Reproducible Open Source Social Robot*

Abstract

Abstract — One of the major obstacles in the study of humanrobot interaction with social robots is the lack of platforms to allow for tests with large user groups. Often, the price of these robots prohibits using more than a handful of robots. Another factor is that with commercial platforms, the robots do not possess all the necessary features to perform an experiment and due to the closed nature of the platform, large modifications are nearly impossible. While open source social robots do exist, they often use the best components that are commercially available, and make use of expensive manufacturing techniques, which make them unsuitable for large-scale studies. To address this problem, a new social robotics platform, named Ono, was developed. The design is based on the DIY mindset of the maker movement, using readily available components and hobbyist accessible rapid prototyping and manufacturing techniques. The modular structure of the robot makes it easy to adapt to the needs of the experiment and by embracing the open source mentality, the robot can be further developed by a community of users. The low cost, open nature and the DIY friendliness of the robot make it an ideal candidate for HRI studies with a large user group. I