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Social robots are robots interacting with humans not only in collaborative settings, but also in personal settings like domestic services and healthcare. Some social robots simulate feelings (companions) while others just help lifting (assistants). However, they often incite both fascination and fear: what abilities should social robots have and what should remain exclusive to humans? We provide a historical background on the development of robots and related machines (1), discuss examples of social robots (2) and present an expert study on their desired future abilities and applications (3) conducted within the Forum of the European Active and Assisted Living Programme (AAL). The findings indicate that most technologies required for the social robots' emotion sensing are considered ready. For care robots, the experts approve health-related tasks like drawing blood while they prefer humans to do nursing tasks like washing. On a larger societal scale, the acceptance of social robots increases highly significantly with familiarity, making health robots and even military drones more acceptable than sex robots or child companion robots for childless couples. Accordingly, the acceptance of social robots seems to decrease with the level of face-to-face emotions involved.
This paper presents the development of a capacitive level sensor for robotics applications, which is designed for measurements of liquid levels during a pouring process. The proposed sensor design applies the advantages of guard electrodes in combination with passive shielding to increase resistance against external influences. This is important for reliable operations in rapidly changing measurement environments, as they occur in the field of robotics. The non-contact type sensor for liquid level measurement is the solution for avoiding contaminations and suit food guidelines. The designed sensor can be utilized in gastronomic applications. Two versions of the sensor were simulated, fabricated, and compared. The first version is based on copper electrodes, and the other type is fully 3D printed with electrodes made of conductive polylactic acid (PLA).
The development of a 3D printed force sensor for a gripper was studied applying an embedded constantan wire as sensing element. In the first section, the state of the art is explained. In the main section of the paper the modeling, simulation and verification of a sensor element are described for a three-point bending test made in accordance with the DIN EN ISO 178. The 3D printing process of the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) utilized for manufacturing the sensor samples in combination with an industrial robot are shown. A comparison between theory and practice are considered in detail. Finally, an outlook is given regarding the integration of the sensor element in gripper jaws.