THE TYPE OF WORK Individual Coursework (6 week)
YEAR 2019
OVERVIEW Blush is a shy, sweet and sometimes reluctant robot. It can get nervous and blushes when something is getting close and will start to listen.
When it heard enough, it will reluctantly give out a candy. The intention behind Blush is as simple as delivery little happiness who walk close to it.
The Prototype
Blush with felted encasing to show more friendlynessThe internal structure
Material
Ultrasonic sensor, CPX, Crickit, micro servos, LED, felt, yarn, wooden buttons, paper board, wood dowels
Code
My code can by found in my Github page here.
Interaction
Blush is shy yet active for interacting with othersWhen meet others, Blush will lift his head to show noticing.In Communication, Blush will keep nodding to show active listing Blush will give the candy when the other talks more
Reflection
Blush now has very simple states of blushing and giving candies. If I had more time, I would adding pressure sensor to its hand to detect if the candy was taken and Blush can have more interaction with users.Also, with its compatibility of changing its clothes and what is holding on its hand, Blush can reach a huge potential of illustrating different moods and characteristics by further coding and additional servos and sensors. For instance, it can become more enthusiastic when dressing in white and giving a rose.
The process of making Blush made me think of the question of what defines a robot and if they really have emotions, as our given brief is “to create something that feels alive.” Many companies advertise their robots as not just a machine but have emotions. Is that a good thing? Will there be moral issues of correct ways of treating robots? In an outsider's position, will I be charged of making Blush only being nice but not having negative emotions?