87470 - SOCIAL ROBOTS

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have knowledge about the main social robotic platforms (Nao, Pepper, Kompai and Jibo), the main issues to consider when, and the existing architectural solutions for, designing software for these platforms. The student will also know their functional characteristics, their software development environments and the main existing open source software libraries for developing human-robot interaction and environment perception abilities. At the end of the course the student will be able to identify the most appropriate social robotic platform for addressing a set of specific project requirements. The student will be able to design a software architecture for a social robot and to implement complex functionalities based on interaction and perception abilities.

Course contents

The course will address the main characteristics of social robots and how they differ from other types of robots. The program addresses the key issues to take into account when designing a social robot and more in general the state of the art in social robotics. Part of the course will also focus on developing a relevant skill for a social robot.

Readings/Bibliography

Cynthia L. Breazeal. Designing sociable robots. MIT Press, 2002

Siciliano B., Khatib O. (eds) Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham

Deb Roy. Grounding Language in the World: Schema Theory Meets Semiotics (2005)

Webots (open-source three-dimensional mobile robot simulator): https://cyberbotics.com/doc/guide/tutorials

Teaching methods

Lectures and workshops.

Assessment methods

Project: (software) development of a relevant skill for a social robot:

• report (in English): state of the art analysis, requirements definition, specification and architectural design 
• software component released on GitHub and skill demo

Teaching tools

Slides

Webots (open-source three-dimensional mobile robot simulator)

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Presutti