SBIR Phase I: Design, deployment, and algorithmic optimization of zoomorphic, interactive robot companions

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project spans the near-term and many years of future development. Over both phases, this proposal covers research and development (R&D) to create a robot pet companions with the potential to sell millions of units in the U.S. toy industry. The proposal also supports the development of R&D infrastructure that will be a critical component of the expansion in subsequent years to the U.S. pet industry (as a robot companion), which is larger and has less direct competition for robotic entrants. The first-generation robot product, a result of the Phase I project, will support science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and robot hobbyists of all ages by facilitating user-friendly modification of its hardware and software as well as the creation of users? own robots and behavioral programs. Given the interactive nature of these modifiable robots, they are likely to have a strong appeal to females, who are underrepresented in STEM fields. The project?s ultimate goal is to develop and market interactive robots that can improve the quality of life for anyone through companionship. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop first-generation robot pets that will be ready to place in thousands of customers? hands and to situate the awarded company to grow to deliver millions of sophisticated robot pets across the world, including to the many people who cannot have pets. Towards these outcomes, the following innovations will be pursued in Phase I: a puppeteer platform that wirelessly controls robot characters; specification of a mobile, social robot character through machine learning; perception of robots and their environment; reliable autonomous recharging; and a simple cloud-based infrastructure for gathering usage data and conducting field experiments on versions of robot characters.