Blacky, an interactive mobile robot at a trade fair

This paper presents the first approach towards the main goal of developing a completely autonomous robot that serves as a local and remote guide at a trade fair. Innovative solutions are provided to solve several problems found in this environment. Reactive-perceptual behaviors are executed to provide motion while a low level controller avoids collisions. A virtual corridor map, simulated perception, and an Extended Kalman Filter for localization, are used to overcome the lack of perception. Voice synthesizing is proved to be an effective aid for navigation, as well as for the overall success and acceptance of the system. A Denning Mrv4 robot called Blacky was used to carry out experiments in actual environments on three occasions, and the obtained conclusions sound promising for future research.