Project Description
Team 34’s goal is to create an intelligent, engaging, and responsive robotic Monopoly player. This product's target audience is directed towards those who desire a companion when playing board games, like the elderly and children. While robots capable of playing more traditional board games such as chess already exist, Boardbot explores the field of social interaction, a field widely left out in the current generation of robots. The hardware component of this project involves Baxter, a humanoid type robot containing a parallel jaw gripper and a suction cup gripper, as well as a physical copy of Monopoly. The grippers allow for the manipulation of cards and board pieces when advancing the state of the game. The software is only injected directly into the Baxter robot after clearing simulation tests on the 3D robotics simulator Gazebo, ensuring safety and functionality. Some core functionalities of the robot include object detection & recognition, autonomous object manipulation, trash talking, and emoji display. Other functions like human emotion detection or web based interactions e.g. live streaming, remote control, user authorization, etc. may be implemented if there is time. The main purpose of the project is to delve into human-robot interactions through the usage of robots and Monopoly in hopes of solving loneliness and other social issues prevalent in society.