During November, the eighth edition of the International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR) 2016 was held in Kansas City, USA, bringing together researchers and professionals working on human and robot interaction and their integration into our society. This years topic was focused on robot’s contribution to improve the quality of human life through assistance, allowing for, for example, independence or supporting difficult and complex situations in the user’s daily routine.
Within the framework of conferences, the international competition on social robotics was held, where participants from all over the world applied for with different proposals by sending a project summary and prototype registration. After a selection process and presentation before a jury, four interdisciplinary projects of PUCP got the first places in different categories. The work teams were composed of mechatronics engineers, industrial designers, psychologists and other professionals from related institutions.
GALEF (The Best Creative Design in the Design Competition of the International Conference on Social Robotics 2016)
Creators: Midori Sánchez, graduate of Mechatronics Engineering, & Marcela Gonzales, graduate of Industrial Design.
Galef is a smart bottle that accompanies the user in their daily routine with notices about their water consumption during the day, the sugar amount their beverages contain and measuring periodically their body mass index (BMI). In addition, it allows you to prepare beverages through its parts: it has a shaker to prepare shakes, with a compartment for infusions or essences and with a filter of water to have access to more water sources. Galef also interacts, directly, showing different moods, in response to the improvement of routine, the fulfillment of daily water consumption goals or excessive consumption of sugars during the day.
The idea came from the need to tackle diseases caused by poor diet such as obesity, diabetes and heart conditions. One of the common causes of this disease is the anxiety of the current pace of life. Then, a product was proposed that helps to reduce this anxiety and in addition, warn on having a healthier life. The main objective is to reduce these diseases, through the creation of better eating habits, through the adequate consumption of healthy beverages. The innovation lies on the combination of three main functions (measurement of water quantity and sugar consumed and the periodical measurement of body mass index) and its adjustment according to every user’s routine.
As for the hardware, it has a screen that shows the abovementioned notices and moods; with a led indicator on the front, which lights up to notify fulfilled targets (green light) or unfulfilled targets (red light). To emphasize moods, it features an adjustable neck that moves according to the expression shown on the screen, sideways, backward or forward. In addition, in the lower part, the sugar meter works through a laser that is projected on the contained beverage, which allows for identifying the liquid density and, therefore, the sugar quantity. To measure the Body Mass Index (BMI), it uses an impedance meter, placed at both ends of the bottle, the BMI is measured periodically to control the recovering of the user and, thus, to vary daily consumption goals. Finally, the base for wireless recharge, which facilitates the process through an induction system.
FUSI (First place in the category Innovation in H/W, Design and Interfaces)
Creators: Diego Quiroz, graduate of Mechatronics Engineering, & Abraham Ponce, student of Industrial Design.
Prototype developed in the Products Design 3 course, taught by Prof. César Lucho of the academic program of Industrial Design of the School of Art and Design. FUSI is a social agent who helps people with stage fright, to prepare oral presentations. Through five steps, the robotic agent acts as a guide in the preparation process:
1.- Voice recording, the robot is connected to a laptop and receives explanation about the presentation: topic, duration time, etc.
2.- Presentation setup, data is introduced e.g. exact duration time, time intervals, quantity of public to whom the presentation will be delivered, specifications, e.g. characteristics of the location (open or closed space), and use of technical supports, e.g. microphones that might be used during presentation.
3.-Presentation in front of FUSI, at a distance of two meters, presentation starts and, per the established parameters, the robot will react with indications. For instance, the arm will be raised if the voice is high or if the robot speaks very slow, its lights will turn on if the position is not appropriate. At the same time, presentation will be recorded to have a record of how it developed during practice.
4.- Presentation result: it shows a fault record and a video for self-assessment to do pertinent improvements.
5.- Improve presentation with the obtained results.
JARI (Second place in category Best Design Robot of the field Innovation in S/W and Interaction Modalities.)
Creators: Ericka Madrid, coordinator of the academic program of Mechatronics Engineering – PUCP, Danna Arias, student of Mechatronics Engineering, Diego Quiroz, graduate of Mechatronics Engineering – PUCP, Marlene Bustamante, graduate of Industrial Design – PUCP, Marilia Baquerizo, psychologist of Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia & Miguel Moscoso, member of Grupo Crónicas of Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.
JARI is one of the products of Co-creando AspTec project, led by coordinator, Ericka Madrid and funded by the Academic Direction of Social Responsibility. The functional prototype was developed by an interdisciplinary team of the academic programs of Mechatronics Engineering, Psychology, Industrial Design and the area of therapy and Rehabilitation. Therefore, it is not only a prototype, but the beginning of an interdisciplinary research line in Robotics and Autism of the group GIRAB (Research Group on Applied Robotics and Biomechanics), which places us at the leading-edge, in Latin America, because of technology, methodology and inclusive area. The robot works on the topic of joint attention in children with autism spectrum condition (ASC), strengthening the child/parent and child/therapist interaction. In conventional therapies, this characteristic is one of the most worked with ASC children, due to its importance in social interactions, in particular, if it is developed in early age. However, exercises made to develop this characteristic are only performed during therapy sessions, in general, two hours a week. JARI allows the parents to strengthen the above-mentioned activities at home and the therapist to perform a better monitoring of interventions made.
JARI structure was developed in whole using 3D printing; in addition, it contains elements of different textures, e.g. plush and silicone, due to the sensorial requirements of ASC children.
Internally, it has support structures for all electronic components and mechanisms that allow to displace and move the head freely in three levels of freedom. It is provided with a total of five engines to make movements and various sensors -touch, sound, color, distance-, whose information is used by JARI, which receives stimuli from the ASC children. Also, it has LED lights and a screen that allows to display basic emotions to children. The system is supplied with internal batteries and allows to recharge through a USB connection, like a mobile device.
ÁSANA (The Best Creative Design in the Design Competition of the International Conference on Social Robotics 2016)
Creators: Héctor Oscanoa, graduate of Mechatronics Engineering, & María Fernanda Lau, student of Industrial Design.
Prototype developed in the Products Design 3 course, taught by Prof. César Lucho of the academic program of Industrial Design of the School of Art and Design. ÁSANA is a social agent providing physical and mental equilibrium to persons with a hurried lifestyle and suffering from stress, through daily short classes of stretching sequences, accompanied by guided breathing, music and lights, contributing to practice regarding time for each position. Moreover, it has a meditation guide with different purposes that may be selected by the user depending on the needs, through the app.
The app enables to make an interaction with ÁSANA, which may be used in any smartphone, under Android platform. From the hardware point of view, ÁSANA has movement in almost all its extremities.
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