Provided a robot for assisting hearing of a user, while minimizing an influence on the surroundings. The robot includes a speaker, a microphone configured to recognize a voice, a processor configured to acquire a position of a user's face when a hearing aid command is acquired on the basis of the voice recognized through the microphone, and a driving unit configured to cause the speaker to be moved toward the position of the user's face, wherein the processor acquires a sound which is a target of hearing aid, generates an assistant sound by amplifying a predetermined frequency band of the sound or converting the predetermined frequency band of the sound into a different frequency band, and outputs the assistant sound through the speaker.

In an embodiment, a method during execution of a motion plan by a robotic arm includes determining a voice command from speech of a user said during the execution of the motion plan, determining a modification of the motion plan based on the voice command from the speech of the user, and executing the modification of the motion plan by the robotic arm.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for audio augmentation of physical robot sounds. A robot can determine that a first physically moveable component of the robot is to be actuated and in response, obtain a conditional state of the robot. The robot can obtain an audio object that generates an audio enhancement for the first physically moveable component being actuated, the audio enhancement having one or more characteristics that match the obtained conditional state of the robot. The robot can output the audio enhancement while actuating the first physically moveable component.

Provided is an electronic device. The electronic device may include: a user interface; a processor operatively connected to the user interface; and a memory operatively connected to the processor, wherein the memory may store instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to control the electronic device to: receive an input via the user interface; determine a task including plural actions based on the input; execute a first action among the plural actions of the determined task; obtain context information related to the task while executing the first action; determine at least one first threshold associated with the first action based at least in part on the obtained context information; and determine the result of the first action based on the execution of the first action being completed based on the at least one first threshold.

A method for teaching a robot to perform an operation based on human demonstration using force and vision sensors. The method includes a vision sensor to detect position and pose of both the human's hand and optionally a workpiece during teaching of an operation such as pick, move and place. The force sensor, located either beneath the workpiece or on a tool, is used to detect force information. Data from the vision and force sensors, along with other optional inputs, are used to teach both motions and state change logic for the operation being taught. Several techniques are disclosed for determining state change logic, such as the transition from approaching to grasping. Techniques for improving motion programming to remove extraneous motions by the hand are also disclosed. Robot programming commands are then generated from the hand position and orientation data, along with the state transitions.

In an embodiment, a method and system use various sensors to determine a shape of a collection of materials (e.g., foodstuffs). A controller can determine a trajectory which achieves the desired end-state, possibly chosen from a set of feasible, collision-free trajectories to execute, and a robot executes that trajectory. The robot, executing that trajectory, scoops, grabs, or otherwise acquires the desired amount of material from the collection of materials at a desired location. The robot then deposits the collected material in the desired receptacle at a specific location and orientation.

Implementations set forth herein relate to a robotic computing device that can perform certain operations, such as communicating between users in a common space, according to certain preferences of the users. When interacting with a particular user, the robotic computing device can perform an operation at a preferred location relative to the particular user based on an express or implied preference of that particular user. For instance, certain types of operations can be performed at a first location within a room, and other types of operations can be performed at a second location within the room. When an operation involves following or guiding a user, parameters for driving the robotic computing device can be selected based on preferences of the user and/or a context in which the robotic computing device is interacting with the user (e.g., whether or not the context indicates some amount of urgency).

An information processor including: an operation control unit that controls a motion of an autonomous mobile body acting on the basis of recognition processing, in a case where a target sound that is a target voice for voice recognition processing is detected, the operation control unit moving the autonomous mobile body to a position, around an approach target, where an input level of a non-target sound that is not the target voice becomes lower, the approach target being determined on the basis of the target sound.

A robot capable of conversation with another robot and a method of controlling the same are disclosed. The robot includes a main body having a first region corresponding to a human face and rotatable in left-right direction directions, a signal generator generating a first data signal to be transmitted to a listener robot and a first robot voice signal corresponding to the first data signal, a communication unit transmitting the first data signal to an external server, a speaker outputting the first robot voice signal, and a controller controlling a rotation direction of the main body such that the first region is directed toward the listener robot at a time point adjacent to a transmission time of the first data signal and controlling the speaker to output the first robot voice signal after the rotation direction of the robot is controlled, wherein the listener robot receives the first data signal transmitted from the external server and is controlled to operate based on the first data signal.

A method for maintaining, commissioning and checking systems in warehouses, where a service technician has a view of the respective system and makes wireless contact with the controller of the system via a mobile computer in order to take over control thereof, where the taking over of control by the mobile computer is permitted by a central controller only if the service technician can have visual contact with the corresponding system, for which purpose the determination of the position and/or the orientation of the mobile computer of the service technician with respect to the respective system is effected via optical and/or acoustic recognition of a fingerprint of the system.