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Companion robot for personal interaction

  • US 7,957,837 B2
  • Filed: 08/27/2008
  • Issued: 06/07/2011
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A robot system comprising:

  • a mobile robot comprising;

    a robot body;

    a drive system disposed on the robot body, the drive system comprising;

    first, second, and third omni-directional wheels rotatably mounted on the robot body; and

    motors coupled to and driving the omni-directional wheels;

    a controller in communication with the drive system;

    a neck rotatably coupled to the robot body;

    a head coupled to the neck;

    at least one camera in communication with the controller; and

    a rechargeable power source carried by the robot body and powering the motors, controller, and the at least one camera;

    wherein the controller is configured to maneuver the robot over a surface at least partially using a signal from the at least one camera; and

    a dock comprising;

    a portion configured to receive the robot; and

    a charging unit disposed on the dock and configured to establish electrical connection with the rechargeable power source of the received robot;

    wherein the dock further comprises a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wireless protocol, a wired Ethernet connector for communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wired Ethernet accessing the Internet, and an access point circuit for transferring TCP/IP transmissions between the local wired Ethernet and local wireless protocol limited to a predetermined IP address locked to the robot, predetermined shell level encryption locked to the robot, and predetermined ports to the Internet open only to the robot; and

    wherein the robot further comprises a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wireless protocol and a client circuit for transferring TCP/IP transmissions over the local wireless protocol.

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