SIGNORA

The proposed robotic desk pet aims to cater to a diverse audience, including those seeking emotional support, older individuals, children, AI enthusiasts, mental health advocates, and gamers. Combining facial expressions and voice features, The envisioned rectangular block with a display exhibiting patterns will move its head towards a person speaking, relying on communication through sound and lights. The primary goal is to enhance an existing product by introducing voice capabilities and incorporating touch and pressure sensors in the arms, ultimately providing comfort and companionship, particularly for individuals experiencing loneliness or depression.This proposed robotic desk pet was derived from Eilik which was more of a fundamental project that we decided to enhance.

UN SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Empowered and Driven:
Delivering Solutions for Global Issues

Affordable and clean energy- we are using rechargable batteries which has less environmental hazards compared to disposable batteries.
Industry innovation and infrastructure- we’re enhancing a pre-existing product by adding more features such as voice response, and facial recognition.
Good health and wellbeing- were tackling mental health, Aki provides support as a companion for depression and loneliness.

DESIGN STORY

Challenges

``- Lack of experience in certain areas that are vital to the team's objectives. - Possible disagreements or miscommunications between the team members. - Failure to show up for weekly team meetings. - Lack of time, insufficient resources, or funds. ``

Solution

``- Members with diverse backgrounds, expertise and skills which helps us to tackle wide range of problems. - Clear communication skills that help to solve problems from different angles and decision-making processes. - Schedule meeting according to everyone's availability otherwise the meeting will be held online in Microsoft Teams. - Use gantt chart to plan out different phase of the project and collect components from the university lab. ``

Use Case

``The purpose of this project is to improve mental health by offering emotional support and comfort, especially to individuals who are depressed or lonely. Aki aims to reduce feelings of loneliness and promote a sense of community by expressing empathy with facial expressions along with having meaningful conversations. It is a comforting presence that strives to improve emotional well-being and provides company whilst you are solitary. Furthermore, Aki is tailored to cater to the needs of the elderly population. Aki serves as a multifunctional companion, offering emotional support alongside practical assistance with daily tasks, reminders, and entertainment. Its ability to display facial expressions enhances communication and helps bridge the gap between humans and machines, appealing to those less familiar with technology. Moreover, Aki offers an environment for computer enthusiasts to investigate and test AI-related technology. Users can interact with the robot to learn about robotics, programming, and artificial intelligence through interactive and hands-on learning. With features like voice commands and motion detection, Aki stimulates the interest and curiosity for people who are knowledgeable about technology and provides a glimpse into the future of human-robot interaction. ``

TECHNOLOGIES

List of Essential Tools and Technologies

C++

Raspberry PI

Python

Arduino Uno

THE PROCESS

PROTOTYPE DESIGN

‘-Voice response – more interactive experience
-Facial recognition- facial expressions which mimic your facial expressions -to create a connection and emotive
-pressure sensor – tapping AKI’s head leads to a specific response
– alarm timer- soft wake-up call for a gentle start to the day -study sessions, or timer to do tasks
– reminders for people to take medicine-elderly
–

PLEDGE

Impact on the market

AKI has a psychological impact as our aim is mental health by us tackling loneliness and depression. We enhance user expreince by including features to cater towards a certain demographic such as the elderly. As the design of AKI is made to be small it is a suited for transport and can be used as a desk top companion. AKI is innovative as even though there are similar products already on the market our aim is to take inspiration form them and enhance them by adding in new features. We do this by adding features such as an alarm/ timer, reminders, wheels to allow movement, voice response, and responsive facial expressions. These features set it apart from others as we are aiming to make it more advanced with the aim to be a better companion for others.

RESULTS

FINAL PRODUCT

Research on components needed based on purpose. Then gather the components like LCD screen, servo motors, DC motors, resistors, breadboard, pressure sensors, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, microphone, speaker, camera, and wires. We then drew a sketch of the circuit using a circuit simulation software to plan layout and connections. A basic circuit is then compiled with all the components. The next step was to test each component to be working and then research basic codes for the functions of our end product as well as code to test the components. AKI is then programmed with its basic function of various facial expressions and voice output. One by one the other features are added and developed. The coding is done using software programs like C++, python, Raspberry Pi and Arduino IDE. The outer casing of AKI was 3D printed.