PROTOTYPING A LED PROJECTOR MODULE CARRIED BY A HUMANOID NAO ROBOT TO ASSIST HUMAN ROBOT COMMUNICATION BY AN ADDITIONAL VISUAL OUTPUT CHANNEL

摘要

This paper describes the development of an innovative visual output channel based on a LED projector to enrich the interaction between older persons in general and persons with COPD in particular and a socially assistive robot. This assistive device has a weight of 430g and can be carried by a small humanoid robot on its back while approaching the users wherever they are. The device consists of a Samsung pico LED projector SP-H03 with 30 ANSI Lumen, a wireless data link for content transmission and a power supply for 1 hour of autonomous operation. The mobile projector prototype showed good performance during laboratory tests when projecting text, graphics and video provided that the ambient brightness in the room was not much higher than 200 lux. Wizard of Oz tests involving older persons and experts from care domain delivered promising results regarding the expected added value brought to users. Future work will focus on integration of video phone functionality.