Designing a Sociable Humanoid Robot for Interdisciplinary Research

Abstract

This paper presents the humanoid robot BARTHOC and the smaller, but system equal twin BARTHOC Junior. Both robots have been developed to study human-robot interaction (HRI). The main focus of BARTHOC’s design was to realize the expression and behavior of the robot to be as human-like as possible. This allows to apply the platform to manifold research and demonstration areas. With its human-like look and mimic possibilities it differs from other platforms like ASIMO or QRIO, and enables experiments even close to Mori’s ‘uncanny valley’. The paper describes details of the mechanical and electrical design of BARTHOC together with its PC control interface and an overview of the interaction architecture. Its humanoid appearance allows limited imitation of human behavior. The basic interaction software running on BARTHCO as been completely ported from a mobile robot except for some functionalities that could not be used due to hardware differences such as the lack of mobility. Based on these components, the robot’s human-like appearance will enable us to study embodied interaction and to explore theories of human intelligence. keywords: Humanoid Robot, Human-Robot Interaction, Embodied Communication.