Design of a Greeting Robot
- Conference
- Location
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Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
- Publication Date
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March 28, 2025
- Start Date
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March 28, 2025
- End Date
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March 29, 2025
- Page Count
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8
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/54655
Paper Authors
Caleb Edward Scheideger Ohio Northern University
Caleb Scheideger is a mechanical engineering student at Ohio Northern University with interests in bio-medical research.
Evan Louis Fisher Ohio Northern University
Evan Fisher is a senior undergraduate student at Ohio Northern University as part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He plans to finish his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics in Spring 2025 and continue his education following graduation. He has research interests in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer, specifically in computational methods.
Kaden Wince Ohio Northern University
Kaden Wince is currently pursuing the bachelor’s degree in computer engineering with Ohio Northern University, OH, USA, where he is currently a senior. His research interests are focused on the robotics field, including manipulation, control, and planning algorithms in dynamic environments.
Emma Pond Ohio Northern University
Emma Pond is a senior undergraduate student at Ohio Northern University, soon to finish a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. She currently works as a teaching assistant for the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ohio Northern University.
Maxwell Phillips Ohio Northern University
Maxwell Phillips is a senior undergraduate student at Ohio Northern University, soon to finish a B.S. in Computer Science. He currently works as a research assistant for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Ohio Northern University. His current research focuses on high-precision hardware design, particularly for integer arithmetic and encryption.
Abigail Collins Ohio Northern University
Abigail Collins is an senior at Ohio Northern University, majoring in Engineering Education. She is interested in the best Engineering Process education methods and plans to teach Engineering at the high school level following graduation.
Rhys Francis Davies Ohio Northern University
Rhys Davies is a senior undergraduate student at Ohio Northern University, soon to finish a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He currently works part-time as an Automation Engineering intern at Crown Equipment Corporation and has accepted an offer to go full-time in June. He is interested in researching automating software development for speeding up the development process.
Abstract
The Greeting Robot is a collegiate level capstone design project aimed at developing a stationary, humanoid robot capable of interactive engagement. The project consists of designing and building a robot that recognizes and responds to verbal interactions, answers questions about the college it represents, performs simple gestures such as waving, and detects and mimics the movements of a nearby individual. The objectives of the project are to enhance outreach efforts by showcasing its represented college to prospective students and families, demonstrating the technical capabilities of current students, and inspiring interest in STEM fields.
The project is characterized by five main design factors: (1) motor and power transmission, which drives limb and head movement. This is achieved through compact, efficient, brushless motors paired with planetary gearboxes to generate the torque required to drive the limbs smoothly and safely. (2) structural design, which has a crucial role in the assembly of the robot’s physical structure, specifically the head, arms, and torso. A lightweight, modular frame is constructed from durable material such as aluminum, with aesthetic components fabricated through 3D printing. (3) establishing electrical power and communication for control and coordination across all system components. This is implemented with a central battery supply and the use of the CAN protocol to keep the motors, controllers, and sensors synchronized for smooth limb movement. (4) human pose estimation, allowing the robot to track and imitate user movements. The robot uses a camera and extensive modeling software to recognize the position and movement of a person, and map that to a set of points in real-time. This is then used to generate a series of joint angles to position the robot’s limbs. (5) an artificial intelligence “pipeline” to power the robot’s speech processing. The robot listens to an audio input and converts it to text, then uses a large language model to produce a dynamic response, and finally uses a text-to-speech model to verbally respond to the user in a natural manner. Each of these core design challenges, when implemented cohesively, provide a fully functional, interactive greeting robot. Finally, extensive testing will be performed to ensure safety of the robot and appropriate interaction with users. This paper will include a summary of the process of designing and building the robot, analysis of the test results, and concluding remarks.
Scheideger, C. E., & Fisher, E. L., & Wince, K., & Pond, E., & Phillips, M., & Collins, A., & Davies, R. F. (2025, March), Design of a Greeting Robot Paper presented at 2025 ASEE North Central Section (NCS) Annual Conference, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. https://peer.asee.org/54655
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