Smart fur tactile sensor for a socially assistive mobile robot

Abstract

Close natural interaction is assumed to be a key feature for a socially assistive service robot, if the user is expected to develop an emotional bond to the robot system and accept it as a companion over a prolonged period. One particularly intuitive way of affective interaction, seen e.g. between people and pets, is physical touch in the form of stroking or smacking. In order to support the companion robot’s role of an intelligent pet-like buddy, we aim to equip the robot with the capabilities to recognize such physical interaction behavior and react accordingly. In this paper, we present a low cost smart fur sensor which encourages tactile interaction by the user and recognizes different touch patterns relating to various kinds of emotional expressions. Special emphasis is put on the simple and robust classification of touch patterns emerging from such tactile interaction to distinguish the respective inputs for the robot.