Design and experiments on a personal robotic assistant

The design and development of the 'personal robot', i.e. a robot capable of living together with and assisting human beings, is perhaps the main challenge for robotics research and technology in the third Millennium. One of the most intriguing issues in the design of such robot is the definition and implementation of adequate schemes for human-robot interaction. In fact, achieving this goal requires multidisciplinary efforts, and the integration of engineering analysis with psychological, anthropological, ethological and product design considerations. in this paper, the basic concepts to he followed in the design of human-robot interaction are discussed. With reference to a concrete example: the MOVAID personal robot for assistance to disabled and elderly people at home. The MOVAID system was designed taking into careful account as a primary design goal the need for intel action with the human user. A prototype of the MOVAID system has been developed and then successfully validated with disabled end-users. The results of these tests indicate that a personal robot is technically feasible, and is acceptable to users in terms of helpfulness, easiness of use and pleasure of interaction.