Companion Robot

Undergraduate Research in the Robotics Lab @National Taiwan University

Advisor: Prof. Han-Pang Huang

Abstract

Inspired by the social needs of people confined during the COVID-19 pandemic, this companion robot enhances physical interaction beyond verbal and visual communication by replicating the movements of remote users during video calls.

System Introduction

Hardware: mechanical

• Degree-of-Freedom: 7
  • Head: 2
  • Arms: 2, each
  • Base: 1
• Actuator:
  • Head & Arm: Dynamixel XL330-M288-T, in series
  • Base: XYZrobot A1-16
• Material: Aluminum (framework), Brass (spur gear), PLA (3D-printed parts)

Hardware: electrical

• Main Processor: NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit 4GB
• Displayer: Waveshare 5-inch HDMI LCD (H)
• Camera: Pi-camera model 2
• Battery: Panasonic NCR18650B x 6 pics
• Battery Management System: BMS 3S (no brand)
• …, etc.

Software

• Operating System: Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
• Programming Language: Python3, C++
• ROS: Melodic (with python3 package)
• Key Packages:
  • Mediapipe – machine learning pipeline
  • OpenCV – image processing
  • DynamixelSDK – head & arm motors control
  • A1_16 – base motor control

File System

companion_robot/

• config.py - main configuration file
• utils.py - common function
• dynamixel_config.py - dynamixel API configuration file
• dynamixel.py - dynamixel API module
• head_arm.py - head, arm motor control
• Jetson_ws/
  • .../include//video_chat/A1_16.h - header file
  • …/src/
    • A1_16.cpp - A1-16 motor module
    • base.cpp - base motor control
• laptop.py - laptop main program
• robot.py - robot main program