My undergraduate Final Year Project is a self-proposed project to design, build and program an affective robot companion. The design is a quadruped robot based off Petoi OpenCat.
Project Objectives
- Build a quadruped robot from scratch, which entails:
- Determining and procuring necessary components
- Designing and wiring the circuitry
- CAD modelling a prototype design in SolidWorks and 3D printing the parts
- Programming the robot behaviour, sensing and actuation on a microcontroller (ESP32)
- Design an emotional intelligence models and natural human-robot interactions using the robot as a platform for affective computing.
Current Project Progress
- Sourced for electronics components and designed the robot circuit.
- Built a simple prototype using cardboard.
- Migrated to the ESP32 (was initially Arduino Uno) for larger memory, better processor and built-in Wi-Fi/Bluetooth capability.
- Programmed and tested the ESP32 with the other necessary components (OV7670, PCA9685) in the circuit.
- Designed the robot system’s software architecture.
- Face detection and emotion recognition models to use the image data from the OV7670 (WIP).
- CAD designs and 3D printing the robot body inspired by or taken from existing OpenCat products or other users’ DIY projects (WIP).
Prototype Version 2
CAD Designs
Electronics
Software
Early Cardboard Prototype
References
[1] OpenCat, Petoi. Available: https://www.petoi.com/
[2] M. Spezialetti, G. Placidi, S. Rossi, “Emotion Recognition for Human-Robot Interaction: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives,” Front. Robot. AI, December 21, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2020.532279
[3] OpenCat Nybble DIY by hackoholic – Thingiverse. Available: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4015171
[4] Robot dog, quadruped robot, 12DOF, 3DOF per leg by SovGVD. Available: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4822059
Jing Ting's Portfolio 