Abstract:
A robot which incorporates a body, and sensors that allow the robot to interact with objects in the room, and prevents the robot from traveling off an edge or bumping into obstacles. A driving mechanism moves the robot along a surface. An edge detection system includes a plurality of infrared emitters each directed at a different angle with respect to the surface. The emitters alternately emitting signals such that only one of the emitters emits a signal at one time. A signal receiving device detects signals emitted by the infrared emitters after the signals have been reflected. The edge detection system detects an edge based on feedback received from the signal receiving device.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM  
       [0001]    This application is a divisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/284,1  10 , filed Oct. 30, 2002, entitled “Robot Capable of Gripping Objects” (now allowed), which is a divisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/881,420, filed Jun. 14, 2001, entitled “Multi-Function Robot with Remote and Video System” (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,773). 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a robot that can be manipulated remotely by a user or operate autonomously. More particularly, the robot can detect and avoid bumping into obstacles and traveling off an edge, thus allowing the robot to interact with objects in a room. Further, the robot can be manipulated remotely without the user requiring a line-of-sight with the robot. All of these features allow the robot to provide various security measures.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0003]    Remote controlled robots allow users to manipulate the robot using a remote control device, allowing the user to move the robot and perform simple tasks. Typically, to be able to see where the user is moving the robot, the user must have a line of sight with the robot. Otherwise, the user cannot see where the robot is and risks damage to the robot by driving it off an edge or colliding with an object.  
           [0004]    Therefore, there is a need for a remote control device to have a video screen allowing the user to see the area in front of the robot. With a video screen on the remote control device, a user can move the robot in areas that are not in the user&#39;s line of sight. Thus, the robot can be moved into more areas.  
           [0005]    Additionally, a robot traditionally cannot interact with people on its own. The user must typically manipulate every action of the robot. Therefore, there is a need for a robot to operate autonomously and interact with people it encounters. To accomplish this, a robot must have the ability to detect moving and stationary objects in the immediate vicinity. To safely operate autonomously, a robot must also have an edge detection system so as to not travel over an edge and damage itself.  
           [0006]    Some robots have video cameras, enabling a user to view the area in front of the robot. However, typically the user may only view the image from the video camera through a computer. Therefore, there is a need for a hand-held remote control device with a video screen that a user can easily transport.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention is a multi-function robot. The robot can operate autonomously or be manipulated remotely by a remote control device. To interact with people in a room, the robot is designed with two arms, two legs, eyes, a mouth, and a head. The arms can rotate in several positions and further contains a hand-grip device. The hand-grip device allows the robot to hold and release objects. The legs of the robot are designed to move the robot throughout a room. The mouth and eyes of the robot allow it to communicate with people in the room and provide emotions.  
           [0008]    To operate autonomously the robot has multiple sensors to avoid bumping into obstacles within the room and traveling off an edge. The sensors include infrared devices located on the body of the robot and an edge detection element located in the legs of the robot. The robot also has several modes by which it can operate autonomously. For example, an automatic mode allows the robot to move autonomously throughout the room, detect people within the room, and interact with the people. The robot can also provide security to the household when it is the security mode. In security mode the robot can detect noise and send an alarm signal to the remote control device to alert the user that an object has been detected. The robot can also greet people when in the greet mode. Additionally, the robot may be placed in the monitor mode, which allows a user to remotely view objects in front of the object and hear sounds within the vicinity of the robot. Finally, the robot can be placed in the remote control mode which allows a user to remotely manipulate the robot.  
           [0009]    To enhance the operation of the modes described above, the robot can display moods through lighting of its eyes and mouth. Depending on the mode the robot is operating from and the type of speech the robot is making, the eyes will change colors to express a different mood. Further, while the robot is speaking the mouth will display different patterns.  
           [0010]    To operate manually, a remote control device is used to manipulate the robot remotely. The remote control device contains all the functions a user will need to manipulate the robot. For example, the remote control device contains a joystick, video display, a microphone, a transmitter/receiver, and several other controls to manipulate the robot. The joystick allows the user to translate motion of the robot in several directions. The video display allows the user to remotely view the area in front of the robot through the video camera on the robot. The user can also transmit his voice to the robot such that his voice is projected from the robot. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the robot of the invention with the left arm in a raised position and both hands in an open position;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the robot with the left arm in a raised position and both hands in an open position;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a left side view of the robot with the left arm in a raised position and the hand in an open position;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a front view of the robot with the left arm in a raised position and both hands in an open position;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a rear view of the robot with the left arm in a raised position and both hands in an open position;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a top view of the robot with the left arm in a raised position and both hands in an open position;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a front perspective of the robot thereof with the left arm in a 90° raised position carrying a tray and the right arm in a 180° raised position carrying a tray;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8 is a cutaway view of an arm of the robot illustrating the mechanism to open and close the hands of the robot;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 9 is a cutaway view of a leg of the robot illustrating the mechanism to rotate the arms;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 10 is a cutaway view of a leg of the robot illustrating the drive mechanism;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 11 is a cutaway view of the body of the robot illustrating the mechanism to rotate the rotatable platform;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 12 is a cutaway view of the mechanism to drive the scanning passive infrared sensor;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the remote control device of the invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 14 is a top rear perspective view of the remote control device;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 15 is a top view of the remote control device;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 16 is a block diagram for the controls of the robot; and  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating the controls fo the remote control device. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0028]    Referring now to FIGS.  1 - 7 , the robot  100  contains a body  102 , arms  104 , legs  106 , video device  122 ,mouth  126 , eyes  128 , light  118 , microphones  117 , active infrared emitter  115 , a passive infrared scanner  114 , and multiple sensors to assist the robot  100  from running into obstacles or traveling off an edge.  
         [0029]    The arms  104  are connected with the body  102 . The arms  104  can be positioned in multiple locations and further can be positioned in pre-set “serving” locations. As shown in FIG. 7, the two pre-set serving positions are at the 90° and 180° positions. Both arms  104  can be adjusted to either position independently. Further, to ensure that the arms  104  will not rotate when in either serving position, the arms  104  can be located so that the remote control  500  cannot activate the arms  104 . Referring now to FIG. 9, the mechanism for rotating the arms  104  can be seen. The motor  180 , via a flexible belt  181 , drives gear  182 , which drives gear  184 , which drives gear  186 , which drives gear  188 , which drives gear  190 . Gear  190  is attached to the arm  104 . To lower the cost and complexity of the mechanism, gears  184 ,  186 , and  188  are the same part. An optical emitter/receiver monitors the movement and location of gear  190  via a toothed wheel (not shown) attached coaxially to gear  190 . Such a device is commonly referred to as an optical position encoding device throughout the industry. Therefore, it is known to one of ordinary skill in the art and does not need to be further described. The monitoring through the above described optical position encoding-device allows the robot  100  to know the position of the arms  104 . When the robot  100  is turned on, the arms  104  are calibrated by moving them through a range of motion that the robot  100  can track their position from the starting position.  
         [0030]    To grip and hold an object, the arms  104  also contain a hand grip device. The hand grip device contains a first finger  110  and a second finger  108 . As shown in FIG. 1, the first finger  110  is stationary and has cavities  112  for holding a serving device (See FIG.  7 ). The second finger  108  opens and closes to grip and release an object. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the second finger  108  maybe stationary while the first finger  110  opens and closes. A spring closure mechanism biases the second finger  108  in a closed position. As the mechanism is commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art, the mechanism does not need to be further described. The spring closure mechanism will not apply more than five pounds of pressure to an object placed between the first finger  110  and the second finger  108 . Limiting the pressure to five pounds will prevent damage to an object held between the first finger  110  and the second finger  108 .  
         [0031]    A separate motor operates to activate the second finger  108 . Referring now to FIG. 8, a leadscrew  152  on the shaft of the motor  150  turns gear  154 , which turns gear  156 , which turns gear  158 . Each stage reduces the RPM and increases torque. The gear  158  has a pin on its underside which pulls a steel linkage which is attached by springs to the lever arms  109  of the second finger  108 . As the steel linkage is commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art, the steel linkage does not need to be further described. This double-spring per can thus be forced open or shut against a spring force without damage to the mechanism.  
         [0032]    The legs  106  are also connected with body  102 . The legs  106  provide lateral support to keep the body  102  elevated and substantially perpendicular to the ground. The legs  106  also provide the ability for the robot  100  to move about. Each leg  106  contains a drive mechanism  300  to move the robot  100 . The drive mechanism  300  located in each leg  106  can move the robot forward, reverse, left and right and both forward and reverse directions, and can spin the robot in place by controlling the rotation of the center wheel  138 . Counters on each drive mechanism  300  control the straight forward motion with the two drive mechanisms  300  in synchronization.  
         [0033]    The drive mechanism  300  is illustrated in FIG. 10. The motor  306  has an attached pulley  307  to drive the pulley  302  via the flexible belt  304 . The pulley  302  has a small gear which also drives the center wheel  138 . The small gear is a common toothed wheel which is commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art. The flexible belt  304  provides tolerance for heavy loads which would otherwise damage a motor or gear train. Also, the flexible belt  304  reduces noise over using hard gears for first-stage reduction. A counter (not shown) mounted on the gear  310  counts the rotation of the center wheel  138  via an attached toothed wheel for indexing and monitoring speed. As the counter is a device which is commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art, it will not be described further. Other optical position encoding devices can be used with wheel  138  as is known in the art. As the center wheel  138  is the only wheel propelled by the drive mechanism  300 , the movement of the robot  100  is dependant solely on the center wheel  138 . The front end wheel  120  and rear end wheel  121  rotate freely upon contact with a surface and provide lateral support to keep the body  102  substantially perpendicular with the ground.  
         [0034]    The robot  100  has several sensors to prevent the robot  100  from running into obstacles and traveling off an edge. The sensors includes ambient light sensors  123 , active infrared emitters  115 , passive infrared sensor  114 , motor sensors (not shown), a tilt sensor and an edge sensor (not shown but described later). As the motor sensor and the tilt sensor are commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art, they will not be described herein.  
         [0035]    The ambient light sensor  123  determines if the ambient area in front of the robot  100  is below a minimum illumination. If the intensity of the ambient light is not enough to view objects through the video display  504  of the remote control  500  without additional light, an infrared mode of the video device  122  will be activated, allowing a user to see objects at night.  
         [0036]    To help the robot  100  avoid bumping into obstacles and traveling off an edge, the robot  100  contains active infrared emitters  115 , a passive infrared (PIR) sensor  114  and four edge sensors  107 , described hereafter. Avoiding obstacles is an important function of the robot  100  so that the robot  100  can operate autonomously. Each leg  106  contains three active infrared sensors  115 . The PIR sensor  114  is located on the front of the body  102 . The edge sensors  107  are located in the legs  106 , whereby one sensor is located in each toe and heel of the leg  106 .  
         [0037]    The robot  100  contains six active infrared emitters  115 , with three in each leg  106 . Signals emitted by the active infrared emitters  115  are detected by signal receiving device located within housing  116 . The three active infrared emitters  115  located in each leg  106  emits a signal at a different angle. The pattern is identical in both the legs  106 . For example, if the three active infrared emitters  115  are aligned in a vertical pattern, the top emitter would emit a signal in a substantially 90° angle from the surface of leg  106 . Additionally, the middle emitter would emit a signal approximately 30° offset towards the ground from the top emitter. The bottom emitter would emit a signal approximately 30° offset towards the ground from the middle emitter. Since each emitter  115  emits a signal at a different angle, the signal will reflect off an object at different places in a room.  
         [0038]    This pattern of active infrared emitters  115  allows for each emitter  115  to detect an object at a different distance or time. For example, since the top emitter emits a signal substantially parallel to the ground, the top emitter will indicate that an object is in front of the robot  100 , but at a distance far away. As the middle emitter emits a signal toward the floor, the middle emitter will indicate that an obstacle is in front of the robot  100  and closer than if the top emitter would have detected the object. Similarly, as the bottom emitter substantially emits a signal toward the ground, the top or middle emitter may not detect an object very close. Thus, the bottom emitter, by not receiving a signal, will indicate that an object is directly in front of the robot  100  and that the obstacle is very near, such as an edge.  
         [0039]    Each active infrared emitter  115  emits a signal. However, only one emitter  115  emits a signal at a time. The six emitters  115  time share the signal receiving device. By only allowing one active infrared emitter  115  to send a signal at a time, the signal receiving device knows which emitter  115  sent the signal. Thus, the robot  100  can determine if the object is far away, near or immediately in front of it. Further, as the emitters  115  continuously emit a signal, the robot  100  can monitor and update the position of objects and edges. With three emitters  115  located on each leg  106 , the robot  100  can distinguish if the obstacle or edge is on the left or right side.  
         [0040]    The PIR sensor  114  is a separate system from the active infrared emitters  115 . The PIR sensor  114  does not emit a signal. Instead, the PIR sensor  114  detects heat. Normally, a passive infrared sensor is not able to detect an object emitting heat if the object is stationary because a typical passive infrared sensor detects a change in temperature. However, the robot  100  can detect a stationary object that emits heat because the PIR sensor  114  is mounted in housing  116 , which continuously rotates through a range.  
         [0041]    Referring now to FIG. 12, the motor  250  has an attached pulley  252  to drive the pulley  256  via the flexible belt  254 . The pulley  256  drives the pulley  258 , which drives the pulley  260 , which drives the pulley  262 , which drives the housing  116 . Similar to the drive mechanism  300 , this drive belt provides tolerance for heavy loads and reduces noise over using hard gears. An optical emitter/receiver (not shown and similar to these described above) monitors the movement and location of the gear that drives the housing  116 . The PIR sensor  114  will detect heat signals as it moves through the range dictated by the housing  116 . For example, as the housing  116  rotates through its range, the temperature differential between the person and the surrounding environment will be detected by the PIR sensor  114 . The robot  100  will know the location of the person in relation to the robot  100  by the angle the housing  116  is at the moment the PIR sensor  114  detects the heat differential.  
         [0042]    The edge detection system relies on feedback from the active infrared emitters  115 , the signal receiving device, and an edge detection element  107  located in leg  106 . The active infrared emitters  115  sequentially send out signals as previously described. When the signal receiving device detects an edge from the signal emitted by an active infrared emitter  115 , the robot  100  will then slow down, thus allowing the edge detection element  107  in leg  106  to confirm that there is an edge. The edge detection element  107  is a leafswitch  111  connected with the front wheel  120  and the rear wheel  121 . As the robot  100  moves slowly forward, if the front wheel  120  or the rear wheel  121  travels a predetermined distance downward, the leaf switch  111  will close and complete a circuit to send a signal to the robot  100  that there is an edge. Thus, the robot  100  will not continue to travel in that direction. Instead, the robot  100  will change direction and continue to operate autonomously. The edge detection element  107  also serves as a backup to the active infrared sensors  115  ability to detect an edge. For example, the signals sent by the active infrared emitters  115  will not reflect from a black carpet. Therefore, the signal receiving device will not detect an edge. In this case, the edge detection element  107  will be the first and only method to detect an edge.  
         [0043]    The motor sensors located within the body  102  monitor current surges to the motors to tilt the body  102 , rotate the arms  104 , rotate the rotating platform  124 , and drive the center wheel  138 . If a surge in current exceeds a minimum threshold, the robot  100  will notify the user by speaking from its vocabulary (e.g., “ouch,” “stop it,” “that hurts,” “that&#39;s heavy,” etc.).  
         [0044]    Robot  100  has several modes by which the robot  100  can operate. Several modes allow the robot  100  to operate autonomously, while other modes require a user to remotely manipulate the robot  100 . The mode settings include a remote control mode, a monitor mode, an automatic mode, a security mode, a greet mode and a demonstration mode.  
         [0045]    When the automatic mode is selected, the robot  100  begins to move autonomously throughout the room. As explained above, the active infrared emitters  115  assist the robot  100  to avoid bumping into obstacles and traveling off an edge. While the robot  100  is moving throughout the room it will occasionally speak from the auto vocabulary, depending on sensor input. Simultaneously, the PIR sensor  114  scans the area in front of the robot  100  to detect a heat source. When the robot  100  detects a heat source, the rotatable platform  124  will turn toward the object and speak from its “roam” vocabulary (e.g., “Nice to see you again.”, “How are you.”, etc.)  
         [0046]    The motor mechanism which drives the rotatable platform  124  is shown in FIG. 11. A motor has an attached pulley  200  to drive the pulley  202  via flexible belt  204 . As the motor is commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art, the motor will not be described further. The pulley  202  drives the pulley  206 , which drives the pulley  208 , which drives the pulley  209 , which drives the pulley  210 , which drives the pulley  212 . The pulley  212  drives the rotatable platform  124 . The pulleys  208 ,  209  and  210  are the same to lower the cost and complexity of the mechanism. The motor mechanism allows the rotatable platform  124  to rotate either left or right, up to 135°.  
         [0047]    The robot  100  can also detect the location of a noise. Three microphones  117  are placed around the robot  100  at approximately 120° angles apart from each other. The microphones  117  can detect the phase difference in a sound detected so that the robot  100  can determine what direction the sound originated from. When a noise is detected, the robot  100  will turn its rotatable platform  124  towards the object as if it is speaking directly to the object.  
         [0048]    The robot  100  can also provide security to a household. When the security mode is selected, the robot  100  stands still with minimum power consumption. When the microphones  117  on the robot  100  detect noise above a minimum threshold, the rotatable platform  124  turns towards the noise source and the PIR sensor  114  begins to scan. If a heat source is detected, the robot  100  turns on the light  118 , the rotatable platform  124  turns towards the heat source, and the robot  100  makes an announcement from the security vocabulary. Further, the robot sends an alarm signal to the remote control device  500  to alert a user that an object has been detected.  
         [0049]    Robot  100  can also greet people. When the greet mode is selected, the robot  100  scans with the PIR sensor  114  to search for a detectable object (e.g., a person). If a heat source is detected, the robot  100  turns the rotatable platform  124  towards the source and makes an announcement from the greeting vocabulary.  
         [0050]    Robot  100  can also demonstrate many of its functions through a pre-programmed routine. When the demonstration mode is selected, the robot  100  performs several motions to display various functions that the robot can operate. For example, the robot will rotate its arms  104  through the full range of motion, tilt its body and speak.  
         [0051]    The robot  100  can also be manipulated remotely by a user. When the remote control mode is selected, the robot  100  is manipulated remotely by a user via a remote control device  500  (See FIG. 13) or via the Internet.  
         [0052]    Finally, when the monitor mode is selected, the drive mechanism  300  is disabled so that the robot cannot move. However, the robot  100  can transmit audio and video signals to the remote control device  500  so that a user can remotely view objects in front of the robot and hear sounds within the vicinity of the robot  100 . A user is not limited to the range of remote control device  500  if the user is remotely manipulating the robot  100  via the Internet.  
         [0053]    The robot  100  can also display moods to enhance or compliment the specific mode the robot  100  is operating in. The different moods are expressed by the eyes  128  and the mouth  126 . The eyes  128  allow the robot  100  to express moods through different combinations of lighting. The eyes  128  contain several lights where each light emits at least one color. The lights maybe arranged in several combinations. The combination of lights may be activated to display at least one color. Specifically, the lights within eyes  128  consist of one blue light, two amber lights and two red lights. The preferred embodiment for the eyes  128  is such that the blue light is positioned in a forward position while the two red and two amber lights are positioned in a rearward position. A reflective surface is placed in the eyes  128  facing the amber and red lights so that the amber and red lights emit light in a forward direction to blend with the blue light. The color emitted from the eyes  128  can be any combination of the blue, amber, and red lights. The combination of lights activated depends on whether the robot  100  is in the night light mode, the monitor mode, the security mode, the remote control mode, the automatic mode or the greet mode.  
         [0054]    When the robot  100  is in the night light mode, two amber and two red lights are activated and emitted from the eyes  128 . When the robot  100  is in the monitor mode, one amber light is activated and emitted from the eyes  128  at all times. When the robot  100  is in the security mode, the lights activated depend on whether the robot  100  is talking or not talking. When the robot  100  is not talking, one blue light is activated and emitted from the eyes  128 . When the robot  100  is talking, one blue light and two red lights are activated and emitted from the eyes  128 .  
         [0055]    When the robot is the remote mode, automatic mode or greet mode, the lights activated depend on whether the robot  100  is not talking, talking, tired, or tired and talking. When the robot  100  is not talking in either of these modes, one blue light and one amber light are activated and emitted from the eyes  128 . When the robot  100  is talking, one blue light and two amber lights are activated and emitted from the eyes  128 . When the robot  100  is tired, one blue light and one red light is activated and emitted from the eyes  128 . Lastly, when the robot  100  is tired and talking, one blue light and two red lights are activated and emitted from the eyes  128 .  
         [0056]    To compliment all speech, the robot  100  also has a mouth  126  to express emotions. The mouth  126  consists of several rows of red LED&#39;s that can be individually activated. Depending on the sensor input and vocabulary spoken, the robot  100  can demonstrate emotions such as a smile, a frown, puzzled, surprise, concentration and thinking. When the robot  100  is speaking, the LED&#39;s continuously change in pattern.  
         [0057]    Another feature of robot  100  is a low battery indicator  139  (See FIG. 2). The low battery indicator  139  contains five rectangular LED&#39;s on the back panel of the robot  100 . When the robot  100  is fully charged, all five LED&#39;s are lighted. When the power level is down to one lighted LED, the robot  100  has a vocabulary to indicate that the power is low and the robot  100  needs recharging. As the robot  100  detects that the battery becomes discharged, the robot  100  will reduce its functions to preserve power in the following order: first, the video functions; then, the audio functions; then, the locomotion functions will be eliminated. The remote control device  500  also has a low battery circuit which includes an audio power display and power cutoff. The power cutoff function is very important as lead-acid batteries will last through many more discharge cycles if they are not fully discharged with each use.  
         [0058]    The control block diagram for the robot  100  is shown in FIG. 16. As shown, there are several microcontroller units (MCU)  400  that coordinate all the functions of the robot  100 . The MCU  400  consists of several, independent integrated circuits to control different functions of the robot. As explained above and illustrated by FIG. 16, the active infrared emitters  115  and the PIR sensor  114  are independentantly controlled.  
         [0059]    Referring now to FIG. 13, the remote control device  500  is used to manipulate the robot  100  remotely. The remote control device  500  is a separately powered device from the robot  100 . An on/off button  328  may be depressed to turn the remote control device  500  on and off. The remote control device  500  contains a joystick  502 , video display  504 , a microphone  506 , a transmitter/receiver  508  and several controls by which a user can manipulate the robot (which will be disclosed later in this application). The joystick  502  is at a height suitable for use with the single thumb of a user. The joystick  502  has eight compass points to translate motion of the robot  100 . The eight compass points include left forward, straight forward, right forward, spin left, spin right, left backward, straight backward, and right backward. When any forward position of the joystick  502  is engaged for more than three seconds the robot  100  will increase speed in the direction engaged, limited by a maximum speed.  
         [0060]    The video display  504  allows the user to remotely view the area in front of the robot  100 . The robot  100  has a video device  122  which is located on the rotatable platform  124 . The image transmitted by the video device  122  is displayed in the video display  504 . By turning the rotating platform  124  or moving the robot  100  in a different direction, a user may see a different area of the room. The contrast knob  536  helps the user adjust the contrast of the video display  504  to optimize the image displayed. To conserve battery power, the video display  504  may be turned off by depressing the display power button  526 . Even though the video display  504  is off, the robot  100  can still be manipulated by the remote control  500 .  
         [0061]    The microphone  506  allows a user to transmit his voice to the robot  100  so that the user&#39;s voice is projected from the robot  100 . The remote control  500  has three voice input buttons  510 ,  512  and  514 . By depressing and holding down any of the voice input buttons, a user may speak into the microphone  506  and the voice will be transmitted to the robot  100 . The voice input button  510  allows the user&#39;s voice to be transmitted to the robot  100 . The voice input buttons  512  and  514  activate and audio circuit which distorts the user&#39;s voice before it is transmitted to the robot  100 . Thus, the user&#39;s voice projected from the robot  100  is disguised. The voice input buttons  512  and  514  distorts the user&#39;s voice in a different manner. In addition to transmitting your voice to the robot  100 , the remote control  500  can receive sounds detected by the robot  100 . The microphones  117  on the robot  100  detect surrounding noise and transmit it back to the remote control  500  so that a user may hear them. The volume control knob  534  allows the user to turn the volume of the noise up or down.  
         [0062]    The transmitter/receiver  508  has two antennas. First, a 2.4 GHz antenna  552  sends audio and video signals from the robot  100  to the remote control device  500 . The second antenna is a 900 MHz antenna  554  that sends control signals from the remote control device  500  to the robot  100 . 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz are common frequencies by which many household devices operate on. To insure that the remote control device  500  will not interfere with other devices in the house (e.g., a cordless phone) each antenna has additional channels which the user may select. Specifically, the 2.4 GHz antenna  552  has two channels and the 900 MHz antenna  554  has three channels a user may select to avoid interfering with other similar devices in the house (each cordless phone).  
         [0063]    The robot  100  can perform many functions. Several of the functions include tilting the body  102 , rotating the arms  104 , griping an object, rotating the rotatable platform  124 , and moving the robot  100 . The body  102  can tilt 180° forward 30° rearward. Tilting the body  102  forward is accomplished by pressing control button  550 . Tilting the body  102  rearward is accomplished by pressing control button  538 . By pressing andholding either button, the body  102  will continue to rotate, stopping when the button is released or the body  102  reaches its maximum tilt angle.  
         [0064]    The arms  104  can rotate through many positions, including two “serve” positions which are located at the 90° and the 180° positions from rest (See FIG. 7). By depressing briefly the up direction button  540  or the down direction button  548 , the arms  104  will increment to the next preset position in the direction indicated. Longer button depressions will control motion of the arms  104  manually, stopping at a position when the button is released. Both the up direction button  540  and the down direction button  548  are divided into a left and right half, whereby the right half controls the right arm  104  and the left half controls the left arm  104 . Thus, both arms  104  can be controlled independently of the other.  
         [0065]    To grip an object, the second finger element  108  can move to a width opening of approximately 75 millimeters away from the first finger element  110 . The second finger element  108  can be opened and closed via the hand control button  544  on the remote control  500 . Similar to the direction buttons, by quickly depressing the hand control button  544 , the second finger element  108  will move to the next preset position. As the motor  150  that controls the movement of the second finger element  108  only rotates in one direction, the second finger element  108  simply cycles through an open and close position. By holding down the hand control button  544  is also divided into a left and right portion. The left half of the hand control button  544  controls the left hand and the right half of the hand control button  544  controls the right hand grip. Thus, the hand grips can be controlled independently. Thus, holding down the hand control button  544  cycles the second finger element  108  through the entire range of motion. The second finger element  108  is also clutched in both directions.  
         [0066]    The serving positions of the arms  104  can be automatically accessed by depressing serving button  530 . Each time the serving button  530  is depressed, the following positions of the arms  104  are achieved: First, the right arm  104  rotates to a 90° position. Second, the right arm  104  rotates to a 180° position. Third, the left arm  104  rotates to a 90° position. Fourth, the right arm  104  returns to the 90° position. Fifth, the right arm  104  returns to the 180° position. Sixth, the left arm  104  rotates to the 180° position.  
         [0067]    The rotatable platform  124  can also be controlled remotely by depressing the left rotate button  542  and the right rotate button  546 . The rotatable platform  124  can rotate approximately 135° in either direction. By intermittingly depressing either the left control button  542  or the right control button  546  the rotatable platform  124  will turn incrementally. If the rotatable platform  124  is not at the center position when the drive control is activated, the rotatable platform  124  will automatically return to the center/forward position. This function allows the user to view where the robot  100  is traveling.  
         [0068]    The remote control  500  can also be used to select which mode the robot  100  will operate. When the mode button  516  is selected, the robot  100  enters into the automatic mode. When the mode button  518  is selected, the robot  100  enters the monitor mode. When the mode button  520  is selected, the robot enters the security mode. When the mode button  522  is selected, the robot  100  enters the greet mode. When the mode button  524  is selected, the robot  100  enters the remote control mode. If the robot  100  is operating in an autonomous mode, the user may depress the mode button  524  to end the autonomous mode and then the robot  100  can be controlled again by the remote control device  500 .  
         [0069]    The remote control device  500  can also activate the light  118 . If it is dark withing the room and a user wishes to provide additional light in front of the robot  100 , the user may do so by depressing the light button  532 . By depressing the light button  532  once, the light  118  is turned on. Depressing the light button  532  a second time activates the bright setting of the light  118 . Depressing the light button  532  a third time turns the light  118  off.  
         [0070]    Referring now to FIG. 17, a block diagram illustrates the controls of the remote control  500 . The microcontroller units (MCU)  450  independently receive signals from the keyboard and joystick. These signals are then sent to the 900 MHz transceiver  554  for transmitting to the robot  100 . FIG. 17 also shows that signals received by the microphone  506  are sent to the voice shifting device and then to the 900 MHz transceiver  554  and finally transmitted to the robot  100 .  
         [0071]    There are several controls which are located on the robot  100  and not on the remote control  500 . For example, a user may press and hold the message button  142  located on the back of the robot  100  to record a message for up to fifteen seconds. Once the message is recorded, the message button  142  may be pressed again to hear the recorded message played back. In addition, the find remote button  143  sends an announce signal to the remote control  500  whereby the remote control  500  will make a noise allowing the user find the remote control device  500 . The power button  144  is also located on the back of the robot  100 . The power button  144  can be pressed to turn the robot  100  on and off. Further, if the user presses and holds the power button  144  for approximately two seconds the robot will enter the demonstration mode.  
         [0072]    The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalence.