Towards the design of a new humanoid robot for domestic applications

Robots that possess the ability to undertake everyday tasks in domestic environments have the potential to provide unprecedented independence to disabled and elderly people who are currently reliant on other people to do these jobs for them. In addition to the ability to perform basic tasks, it is desirable that such robots possess some form of social interface such that users can interact with them in a natural manner. While many robot platforms have been developed to perform everyday tasks, few systems possess high levels of mechanical efficiency, system stability, practical functionality and a dynamic social interface. This work presents the novel design of a humanoid robot that uses wheels for locomotion and the combination of an actuated stabilizer and a self-balancing control algorithm to maintain stability. To validate some of the basic concepts in this design, a full scale working prototype was built and its performance was tested. It was found that despite being the first prototype of its type, it was capable of robust locomotion in indoor environments and was capable of traversing small bumps with relative ease. It was also very efficient at picking up small items that from the ground.