These are some of MeBot's gestures.
MeBot, a project, or a masterpiece should I say, from the Personal Robotics Group at MIT, is one of the most talked-about robots of today. Some might think that it is just one of those ordinary telepresence robots that we know. But what makes it unique is its ability to provide its user ways of communicating non-verbally.
The MeBot is like a robotic avatar which gives you a whole new different way of interaction through non-verbal channels with the help of phone and video conferencing. It is also able to communicate some body posture, head movements through its 3 DOF neck and very expressive hand gestures. The operator can also control the inter-personal distance.
The creation of MeBot aims to give people a face and an expressive presence even though they are far away and still have the same feeling as “being there”. According to the makers of Mebot:
“We conducted an experiment that evaluated how people perceived a robot-mediated operator differently when they used a static telerobot versus a physically embodied and expressive telerobot. Results showed that people felt more psychologically involved and more engaged in the interaction with their remote partners when they were embodied in a socially expressive way. People also reported much higher levels of cooperation both on their own part and their partners as well as a higher score for enjoyment in the interaction.”
Click here to read more about MeBot, Telepresence Robot
