Little litter robot rolls around asking nearby pedestrians to pick up trash

According to Japanese researchers, there’s nothing wrong with asking for a helping hand. At least, that was the thinking used by a group of engineers from the Interaction and Communications Design Lab at the Toyohashi University of Technology when they developed a series of small-in-size robots and tasked them with keeping public areas clean of trash. 

Each sociable trash box (STB) robot comes equipped with a pyroelectric infrared sensor as well as a distance sensor to allow it to detect people’s body heat and move safely between them while patrolling public areas. 

A camera complemented by an object recognition algorithm allows the little litter bot to identify pieces of trash around it. Once it has set its focus on a target, it will then pick a nearby human — preferably a child — and engage him or her using social cues and vocal interactions to ask for assistance in collecting the trash. 

Now, I point out that the robots target children. According to the group’s site, the main purpose of this study is to see what social cues, behaviors, and other factors are needed for a successful exchange of communication between bot and child.

Although the project has been in the works for years now, the group is only beginning to garner some attention for it now because of a demonstration the researchers did at the recent International Robotics Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.

See it in action for yourself in the video below:

Story via: icd.cs.tut.ac.jp