IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2017 - 87

embodiments. They show that the key elements to attract
novices are the abilities to build, hack, and use a social robot
platform at different levels of difficulty. We believe that the
open-source approach holds much promise in robotics
research, though it is not without its challenges. The main
bottlenecks are 1) the lack of time for ancillary activities
related to open source, 2) the difficulty of building commu-
nities around niche research topics, and 3) the challenge of
consolidating open-hardware approaches with traditional
business models.
Creating Ono and the Opsoro ToolKit
Social interaction between humans and robots is currently the
subject of much scientific research. This is perhaps unsurpris-
ing, as technology-both software and hardware-has evolved
to the point where practical applications of robots in daily life
have become more feasible. Research has shown that the
embodiment of a robot has a far-reaching impact on the way
the robot is perceived by humans [1]. Goetz et al. [2] show that
a robot's appearance and demeanor can have a meaningful
impact on a user's willingness to cooperate with a robot. Li et
al. [3] demonstrate the effect of appearance on the likability of
a robot. Generally, it is also accepted that physical embodi-
ment enhances a robot's social presence [1], [4] and that touch
is a key aspect of human-robot interaction (HRI) scenarios
[5]. Bartneck et al. [6] argue that while physical embodiments
are no better at expressing emotions than virtual agents, the
latter do not have the same ability to interact with the physical
world. For instance, the robot Travis [7] exploits this property
by incorporating a smartphone in the embodiment design in a
way that is meaningful for social interaction.
The appearance of a robot is important because it directly
influences the user's expectations about the robot's behavior
and mental state and because HRI is enhanced by an attrac-
tive or interesting appearance [8], [9]. While some work is
being done to explore the effects of embodiment design in
HRI (e.g., [7], [10]-[12]), most experiments consider the
appearance of the robot as an external constraint, focusing
their experimentation on other aspects of interaction. The
current state of affairs is that many different studies are being
conducted using the same robots (e.g., Nao). This is under-
standable, considering the downsides of building custom
robots for an experiment, such as the monetary cost, the time
investment, and the robustness and reliability issues of new-
prototype robots.
To address the current difficulties of designing custom
social robots, we identify an open-source, DIY-friendly toolkit
approach as one solution. Back in 2001, Hippel [13] demon-
strated the potential of toolkits as a method for enabling user
innovation, especially in niche applications and in so-called
markets of one. Within the field of human-computer interac-
tion (HCI), the toolkit approach has already been widely
adopted. Examples include reacTable [14], littleBits [15], and
PumpSpark [16]. Within the field of HCI, many projects
embrace a DIY or hacking paradigm as part of the system
[17], [18].

In recent years, we have also started to see the impact of
DIY and open-source methodologies in robotics. To begin,
there are open-source projects that serve as building blocks
intended to be integrated into a larger robotic platform.
Examples include the Robot Operating System (ROS) [19],
the OpenHand manipulator [20], and the TakkTile touch
sensor [21]. Second, some complete robots' hardware design
files have been released under an open-source license. Exam-
ples are the iCub humanoid [22] and the quadruped Oncilla
[23]. It should be noted that while these robots are open
source, they are not necessarily designed with easy reproduc-
tion in mind. To illustrate this, the iCub robot contains many
computer-numerical-control (CNC)-milled and molded-
plastic parts, necessitating a very well-equipped lab to copy
the design.
More recently, new platforms have emerged that place a
more explicit emphasis on community-driven modifications
and development. For instance, the Poppy project [24]
focuses on robot designs based on three-dimensional (3-D)-
printed components in conjunction with Dynamixel-brand
smart servos. The use of 3-D printing enables quick and
accurate reproduction of parts but also allows the designs to
be altered quickly. Currently, the project offers three designs:
a six-degrees-of-freedom (DoF) arm, a 13-DoF upper torso,
and a 25-DoF humanoid robot. Finally, robot kits have seen
a rise in popularity as a tool for science, technology, engi-
neering, and mathematics education. The best-known
example is probably MINDSTORMS, a closed platform
based on the LEGO construction toy. Thymio [25] is a
recent example of an open-source robot designed for educa-
tion. The platform consists of a mass-produced mobile unit
that is to be extended by students using papercraft and
LEGO add-ons.
The work we describe in this article is based on our
experience with conventional social robots, mainly the
robot Probo [26]. The experiments with Probo showed a
substantial discrepancy between what the designers had
envisioned as essential functionality and the level of func-
tionality that was actually used by the therapists. The robot
had been conceived as an advanced research platform, of
which only one copy would be built. As it turns out, many
interaction experiments with children required only basic
robot functionality [27], [28]. This insight prompted us to
design a new, simplified social robot (Figure 1), as we
found that others were also dealing with similar issues. Our
goals for the design of the Ono robot [29] were to create a
robot that would be inexpensive, reproducible, modular,
and easy to repair and transport. Many of these challenges
were met by taking cues from contemporary DIY para-
digms such as the maker movement [30] and the open-
source hardware movement.
At a certain point in the development of Ono, we decided
to integrate the technology behind the robot (Figure 2) into a
DIY toolkit for the design of social robots focused on face-to-
face communication. The platform, named Opsoro, allows
nonexperts to design, build, and program new social robot
March 2017

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