University of Northern Iowa UNI ScholarWorks Dissertations and Theses @ UNI Student Work 2012 A Sociable Humanoid Autonomous Robotic Platform (the SHARP Project): An evaluation of the G.E.N.E.S.I.S. robot as an interactive consumer robotic platform Jeffrey J. Rick University of Northern Iowa Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy Copyright ©2012 Jeffery J. Rick Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd Part of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Rick, Jeffrey J., "A Sociable Humanoid Autonomous Robotic Platform (the SHARP Project): An evaluation of the G.E.N.E.S.I.S. robot as an interactive consumer robotic platform" (2012). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 606. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/606 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses @ UNI by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A SOCIABLE HUMANOID AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC PLATFORM (THE SHARP PROJECT): AN EVALUATION OF THE G.E.N.E.S.I.S. ROBOT AS AN INTERACTIVE CONSUMER ROBOTIC PLATFORM An Abstract of a Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Jeffrey J Rick University of Northern Iowa July 2012 ABSTRACT The Social Humanoid Autonomous Robotic Platform (SHARP) project is an android project that was created with the intent of making learning about androids and robotics easier for the novice, diverse for the expert, educational in the classroom, and useful in the home or business. The project centers itself on its simplicity, low cost, and expandability. This paper illustrates how the SHARP Project has the potential to be an affordable fit in nearly every modern setting. The introduction of the SHARP project lays the groundwork for people of many ages, incomes, and educational levels to take advantage of robotics technology. The SHARP project features research based, in part, on a personal android project named "G.E.N.E.S.I.S." as an example of the SHARP project's features. The features of G.E.N.E.S.I.S. include voice recognition, speech synthesis, and responses to various sensor stimuli which help encourage human-robot interaction. This study uses survey results to examine the factors that make these robots desirable to consumers and identifies which factors make some robots more sociable than others. The study concludes with an evaluation of the G.E.N.E.S.I.S. robotic platform and suggests an appropriate market niche for this and other similar sociable humanoid robotic platforms. Keywords: android, human-robot interaction (HRI), sociable robots, humanoid robots, GENESIS, G.E.N.E.S.I.S., SHARP Project A SOCIABLE HUMANOID AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC PLATFORM (THE SHARP PROJECT): AN EVALUATION OF THE G.E.N.E.S.I.S. ROBOT AS AN INTERACTIVE CONSUMER ROBOTIC PLATFORM A Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Jeffrey J Rick University of Northern Iowa July 2012 UMI Number: 1521363 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ttswWioft FtoMstfiriii UMI 1521363 Published by ProQuest LLC 2012. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 This study by: Jeffrey James Rick Entitled: A SOCIABLE HUMANOID AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC PLATFORM (THE SHARP PROJECT): AN EVALUATION OF THE G.E.N.E.S.I.S. ROBOT AS AN INTERACTIVE CONSUMER ROBOTIC PLATFORM has been approved as meeting the thesis requirement for the Degree of Master of Science - Industrial Technology Date Dr. Recayi Pecen, Chair, Thesis Committee Date Dr. Jin Zhu, Thesis Committee Member Date Dr. Dale Olson, Thesis Committee Member Date Dr. Hong (Jeff) Nie, Thesis Committee Member Date Dr. Michael J. Licari, Dean, Graduate College Ill DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this work to my Grandmother M. Dorothy Rick, who has been there for me all of my life, through my hardest and roughest days and most discouraging moments, you were there to pick me up and keep me grounded. You gave me a place to live when I had nowhere else and you gave me food when I was hungry. You had complete confidence in my ability to succeed in my education, my career, and my life's work. You were my best friend and the inspiration for all of the work that follows. You are missed every day of my life and will live always in my heart. Thank you for being the candid, loving, caring, supportive, beautiful woman you have been since my earliest memories. My Beloved Grandmother, until we meet on the other side may Heavenly Father keep you in his grace. Rest in Peace Margaret Dorothy Rick 3/2/1912 - 4/14/2008 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all of the people who helped me complete this thesis with special consideration to my advisor and friend Dr. Recayi (Reg) Pecen who has given his guidance and support since the first day I set foot on the University of Northern Iowa campus. Also to my committee members Dr. Jin Zhu, Dr. Hong (Jeff) Nie, and Dr. Dale Olson who have stood beside me in my research and opened doors for me that would not have been opened without their support and their input on my work. I would also like to thank Dr. Muhammad Fahmy whose wisdom and compassion for his students has encouraged and inspired me to pursue my goals with persistence and vigor. A special thanks to Dr. James O. Gouge and the members of the Machine Intelligence Technology Beta team who have contributed so much to the development of the technology involved in this research as well as offered me personal guidance and encouragement. My family has been an amazing source of love, support, inspiration and encouragement through every step of my life especially my graduate work; my parents James and Barbara Rick, my grandmother Dorothy, my sister Julie, and my daughters Jordan, Kimberly, and Lisa, from the very bottom of my heart, Thank You! Finally, I would also like to offer a very special Thank-You to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ who has blessed me and sustained me through the trials and tribulations of this work and in my life in general. Without the grace of the Holy Spirit, none of this work would be possible. V TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Background 1 Statement of Problem 2 Purpose of the Study 3 Need and Justification 4 Research Hypotheses Questions 5 Assumptions 5 Limitations 6 Definition of Terms 6 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 8 Social Robotics Overview 8 Social Hardware 9 Social Software 10 Theories Involving Social Robots 11 Current Research with Social Robots 13 Uncanny-Valley 16 Summary 18 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19 Social Humanoid Autonomous Robotic Platform 19 The Survey 21 Sample Analysis 24 The Interactive Face of G.E.N.E.S.I.S 25 Speech and Vocabulary 27 The Machine Intelligence Brain 28 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF DATA 31 Statistical Overview 31 General Respondent Information 31 Interactive Features 34 Personality and Emotions 44 Statistical Analysis of Personality, Emotions, and Conventional vs. Progressive 57 The Human-Robot Environment 63 User Defined Features 72 Results and Discussion 75 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 81 Summary 81 Hypothesis Findings 83 Conclusions 84 Recommendations for Future Work 88 REFERENCES 91 vii APPENDIX A: HUMAN PARTICIPANTS REVIEW FORM 94 APPENDIX B: INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 95 APPENDIX C: INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY SURVEY COVER LETTER 98 APPENDIX D: FACEBOOK SURVEY INVITATION 99 APPENDIX E: VARIABLES RESEARCHED 100 APPENDIX F: SPSS-PASW MULTIPLE COMPARISON OUTPUT 101 APPENDIX G: INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY SURVEY DATASET 119 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 4.1 Interactive Features List 40 4.2 One-Way Personality ANOVA by Age 60 4.3 Multiple Comparison Personality by Occupation 61 4.4 One-Way Consumerl ANOVA by Age 63 4.5 Human-Robot Environment List 65 4.6 One-Way Environment ANOVA by Age 67 4.7 One-Way Environment ANOVA by Occupation 68 4.8 Multiple Comparison LSD Environment by Occupation 70 ix LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1.1 The Uncanny-Valley 17 3.1 Functional Block diagram of the SHARP Project 20 3.2 Servo Placement Map 25 3.3 G.E.N.E.S.I.S. Emotional Expression Example 26 3.4 Machine Intelligence Root Component Layout 30 4.1 Respondent Age Chart 33 4.2 Respondent Occupation Chart 33 4.3 Programs Using Voice Recognition by Age 36 4.4 Programs Using Voice Recognition by Occupation 37 4.5 Programs Using Speech Programs by Age 37 4.6 Programs Using Speech Programs by Occupation 38 4.7 Interactive Features Chart 39 4.8 Artificial Personality Chart by Entire Sample Population 46 4.9 Artificial Personality Chart by Age 47 4.10 Artificial Personality Chart by Occupation 48 4.11 Machine Emotional Expression Chart by Entire Sample Population 49 4.12 Machine Emotional Expression Chart by Age 50 4.13 Machine Emotional Expression Chart by Occupation 51 4.14 Computer Appearance Chart by Entire Sample Population 53 4.15 Computer Appearance Chart by Age 55 X 4.16 Computer Appearance Chart by Occupation 56 4.17 Human-Robot Environment Preference Chart 64 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background For the last 50 years, computers have played an increasingly integral role in the way people live their lives.