Developing Relationships Between Robots and Humans

As I learned more about the different things I could program a robot to do, I wanted to investigate whether I could make it interact with a human and thereby form a relationship. I was learning how to program Cozmo (a small robot powered by AI) using Calypso, a robot programming language developed by Professor David Touretzky at Carnegie Mellon University in America. At that time, I was assisting Professor Touretzky by testing various versions of Calypso which helped me learn about the wide range of functionality that Calypso has. For the past couple of months, I have been learning about Calypso and how to use it to program Cozmo to do various tasks. To make Cozmo do different intelligent activities that allow him to interact with a human, I learned how to use Calypso’s numerous programming features, which include perception, teleoperation, pursuit and consumption, conflict resolution, and speech and hearing. Using Calypso and Cozmo, I experimented with multiple different interactions. Ultimately, I was able to make Cozmo communicate, express emotions, and perform various tasks asked of him, thus developing the basis for a bond with a human. Cozmo can be helpful in many different situations and act as a pet or friend which a human could interact with. In the future, I would like to add more functionality to Cozmo, such as making him perform a wider variety of tasks and getting him to remember each person and his conversations with them. With this added functionality, Cozmo could be used much more effectively and could be very beneficial to many, like those who may not have anyone else to talk to. Cozmo will be able to listen and have conversations with a human, thereby creating a relationship with them.