SANCHO, a fair host robot. A description

This paper describes SANCHO, a mobile robot intended to perform within crowded areas as a servant, for instance as a fair or congress host. This robot has been constructed upon a commercial platform on which a number of sensors and devices have been integrated. A software control architecture has been implemented and adapted to this particular robot, enabling it to perform in human scenarios. Among the different subsystems of the control architecture developed for SANCHO, we highlight in this paper two of the most relevant ones: the navigation component which permits the robot to navigate in a safe and robust manner within crowded and dynamic environments, and the communication component which provides different possibilities for human-robot interaction. We illustrate the performance of SANCHO through a number of experiences carried out in public shows.

I. Introduction

In the last years, robots are becoming a significant part in our society, providing a valuable assistance in a variety of fields. Some examples are their use for taking care of elder people ([1], [26]), assisting in surgery ([12], [24]), education ([17], [20]), entertainment applications ([21], [9]), etc. However, all these are only sporadically found in practical applications due to the difficulties and constraints that entail the inclusion of robots in the daily life.