Development platform for robot partners using smart phones

We have been developing robot partners to support socially vulnerable people. This paper proposes a platform of robot partners using different types of communication methods and software modules for perception and communication. First, we explain the purpose in the development of a robot partner called iPhonoid. The iPhonoid is mainly composed of a smart phone and a robot base. The smart phone plays the role of sensing units, information processing and display units, and the robot base is equipped with two robot arms to realize gestural interaction with people. Next, we show the system architecture based on software and hardware modules of iPhonoid. We explain two types of control methods for robot gestures, and four types of communication methods. Finally, we show several prototypes of iPhonoid based on the above system architecture.