A mobile robot guest for interacting with a human resident performs a room-traversing search procedure prior to interacting with the resident, and may verbally query whether the resident being sought is present. Upon finding the resident, the mobile robot may facilitate a teleconferencing session with a remote third party, or interact with the resident in a number of ways. For example, the robot may carry on a dialogue with the resident, reinforce compliance with medication or other schedules, etc. In addition, the robot incorporates safety features for preventing collisions with the resident; and the robot may audibly announce and/or visibly indicate its presence in order to avoid becoming a dangerous obstacle. Furthermore, the mobile robot behaves in accordance with an integral privacy policy, such that any sensor recording or transmission must be approved by the resident.

Companion robot for personal interaction

Methods and apparatus that provide a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) for a robot are disclosed. A HAL can reside as a software layer or as a firmware layer residing between robot control software and underlying robot hardware and/or an operating system for the hardware. The HAL provides a relatively uniform abstract for aggregates of underlying hardware such that the underlying robotic hardware is transparent to perception and control software, i.e., robot control software. This advantageously permits robot control software to be written in a robot-independent manner. Developers of robot control software are then freed from tedious lower level tasks. Portability is another advantage. For example, the HAL efficiently permits robot control software developed for one robot to be ported to another. In one example, the HAL permits the same navigation algorithm to be ported from a wheeled robot and used on a humanoid legged robot.

Hardware abstraction layer (hal) for a robot

Systems and methods according to the present invention address these needs and others by providing a structure for navigating in a GUI with a handheld device, e.g., a 3D pointing device, which incorporates buttons and a scroll wheel.

Methods and systems for scrolling and pointing in user interfaces

System, apparatuses, and methods for bringing a shopping container to a customer in a shopping space are provided. A system for bringing a shopping container to a customer in a shopping space comprises a plurality of sensors, a plurality of motorized transport units, and a control circuit. The control circuit being configured to: receive a shopping container request from a user interface device associated with the customer, determine at least one available shopping container based on data collected by the plurality of sensors, the at least one available shopping container being empty and not used by another customer, select an available shopping container based at least on a location information of the user interface device, select a motorized transport unit to transport the available shopping container, and provide instructions to the motorized transport unit to bring the available shopping container to the customer.

Shopping facility assistance systems, devices and methods

Various contact systems and methods for manufacturing and using such are disclosed herein. Examples of the contact systems include a surface with one set of pads (45) biased at a first voltage level, and another set of pads biased at a second voltage level, which can be used, for example, to transfer power to an electromechanical device (94) disposed thereon. The electromechanical device (94) can include a power storage element and two or more couplings. When one of the couplings contacts a pad biased at the first voltage level, and another one of the couplings contacts a pad biased at the second voltage level, a circuit is completed where some derivative of the differential between the first voltage level and the second voltage level is placed across the power storage element. Completion of the circuit causes the power storage element to charge. Power can be drawn from the power storage element to operate the electromechanical device (94).

Systems and methods for providing electric power to mobile and arbitrarily positioned devices

Firstly, a authenticating pattern is disposed on a cover and an authenticating device is disposed in a robot apparatus for authenticating the cover on the basis of the authenticating pattern of the fitted cover. Secondary, an information holding device for holding inherent information is disposed in the cover and a reading device for reading out the inherent information from the information holding device is disposed in the robot apparatus. Thirdly, a function of detecting an amount of influence due to the cover and changing manifesting patterns of motions as occasion demands on the basis of the detection result is disposed in the robot apparatus.

Robot system, robot device, and its cover

An authenticating pattern is disposed on a cover and an authenticating device is disposed in a robot apparatus for authenticating the cover on the basis of the authenticating pattern of the fitted cover. An information holding device for holding inherent information is disposed in the cover and a reading device for reading out the inherent information from the information holding device is disposed in the robot apparatus. A function of detecting an amount of influence due to the cover and changing manifesting patterns of motions as occasion demands on the basis of the detection result is disposed in the robot apparatus.

Robot system, robot apparatus and cover for robot apparatus

An input device is disclosed which includes: a casing; an input unit provided in the casing; an orientation detection unit configured to detect the orientation of the casing; and a command assigning unit configured to assign commands to inputs from the input unit, based on the results of detection by the orientation detection unit.

Input device and inputting method

A process execution apparatus and method is disclosed by which a process can be executed significantly simply and readily. The process execution apparatus includes a direction recognition section for recognizing a housing member shaking direction in which a housing member is shaken, and a process execution section for executing a process in response to the housing member shaking direction recognized by the direction recognition section. The direction recognition section recognizes the housing member shaking direction with respect to a direction of the gravity detected when the housing member is held by a person.

Process execution apparatus, process execution method and process execution program

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To considerably facilitate processing SOLUTION: The music reproduction robotic apparatus 1 can accurately recognize a shaking direction of a case as viewed from the user who shakes the ellipsoidal case 2 regardless of a posture of the ellipsoidal case 2 held by the user by detecting the gravity direction D3 of a load of gravity when the ellipsoidal case 2 is lifted up and recognizing the shaking direction of the case to the detected gravity direction D3 COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Nobuhiko Ohguchi

Papers

Robot system, robot device, and its cover

Robot system, robot apparatus and cover for robot apparatus

Input device and inputting method

Process execution apparatus, process execution method and process execution program

Processing apparatus, processing method and processing program