Infrared remote control with a social robot

Abstract

One of the aims of social robots is to make life easier for people in doing things more to their comfort and assisting them in some tasks. Having this purpose in mind and taking advantage of the widely used of infrared controlled home appliances, a controlling infrared devices system on board a robot has been developed. We focus on standard appliances with infrared interface, therefore no adjustments are needed either in the appliances or in the environment. The system has been implemented at the social robot named Maggie which has been equipped with an infrared reciever/transmitter. After teaching the desired commands to the robot, Maggie can govern the devices placed at several locations. At the beginning, a dialog between Maggie and the user is established. Once the robot has understood what the user wants, it will move toward the device and will send the required command. For testing the smooth running of the system, several trials have been done in our lab with a TV screen. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.