Robot Hotel

the world’s first hotel staffed by robots, which opened last month near Nagasaki, Japan (where else?), immediately went viral, but few of the reports actually involved a visit. I went along last week to see if Henn-na hotel lived up to the hype.

I arrive at 2.55pm. All is quiet. Behind reception is a motionless but lifelike girl robot wearing a cream jacket and a smirk. She has a sign saying “only Japanese”, so I approach another robot, this one designed, bizarrely, to look like a velociraptor and sporting a bow tie and a bellhop hat. I say hello. Nothing. I wave and he stares past me, his arms outstretched but unmoving.
“I’d like to check in please,” I shout, wondering if the robots are voice-activated. A door opens to the right and a real live human in a black T-shirt appears. “Check-in is 3pm” he says, and goes back into his room.
Robots are taking off in Japan and several companies manufacture them for service. In April the Tokyo branch of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi put a humanoid robot on reception; Nestlé is investing in robots to sell coffee makers in stores across the country; and robots guide visitors round the capital’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

The hotel’s owner, Hideo Sawada, says he wants to make this “the most efficient hotel in the world” by reducing manpower and having 90% of staff be robotic. The hotel is in the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki. Designed to resemble the Netherlands, the park is a sort of Dutch Disneyland, with gardens, windmills and tea shops – and so far most hotel guests have been Japanese families visiting the park. The hotel itself is a beautifully designed modernist property, with techy additions such as aircon that adjusts to guests’ body temperature.
At 3pm the velociraptor jerks to life and says, in an American accent, “Welcome to the Henn-na hotel. If you want to check in, press one.” I start tapping the screen but the man in black appears again and asks for my passport, leaving the robot to fall into a state of inertia. How disappointing.
The hotel’s other robots include a giant mechanical arm in a glass case that stores luggage in individual drawers for ¥500 (£2.50). There’s also a foot-high “concierge” who explains breakfast times and locations (only in Japanese) and orders taxis. Robot “porters” are two rechargeable luggage trolleys – but only for residents of one luxury wing.
Using facial recognition software, I let myself into my room and find, on my bedside table, Chu-ri-chan, a cute little electronic creature. She will switch on the lights and offer weather forecasts and wake-up calls. She’ll also perk up after being silent for an hour and scare the crap out of you. Robots may be the future, but for hotel hospitality, you still can’t beat the human touch.

Creating a Prototype

• testing the design
• troubleshooting the design

You should ideally think of at least three different ways to solve the problem before you concentrate on any one in particular. Sketches and notes are required at this stage. You can also create prototypes using lego for this step. Once you have created a lego prototype, take a digital picture of it. Print out the picture and jot your notes below the picture in your log book. Once you have settled on one solution, go back over the list of specifications you have made. Make sure that each specification is satisfied.

Now it the time to produce some working drawings. These are the drawings that will assist you as you begin constructing the prototype of your structure. (Here again, lego and a digital camera might be your best friend.) You may choose to do your drawings by hand or you might want to use a draw program on the computer to assist you.

Determine a working schedule for yourself. Draw up a timetable showing how much time you expect to spend on each part of the design process. Your planning should also ensure that you have all the necessary materials and equipment that you need to complete your project.

Design

Researching and Designing

• gathering information
• identifying specific details of the design which must be satisfied
• identifying possible and alternative design solutions
• planning and designing a appropriate structure which includes drawings

Having written a brief, you are now ready to gather information which will help you to produce a successful design. First you will need to decide what information you require. This will be different from project to project and will also depend on the amount of information and knowledge you already have. A useful step will be to use the following chart. Ask the five questions, then read the column headed Gathering Information. This will help you plan the type of information you will need to gather.

Gathering Information
1. What is the practical function of the design? (What must my robot do?)	A design's practical functions can include: movement How will the robot move within its environment? If it were put in a different environment, would it still be able to move within this new space? manipulation How will the robot move or manipulate other objects within its environment? Can a single robot move or manipulate more than one kind of object? energy How is the robot powered? Can it have more than one energy source? intelligence How does the robot "think?" What does it mean to say that a robot "thinks?" sensing How will my robot "know" or figure out what's in its environment? If it were put in a different environment, would it be able to figure out this new environment
2. What part does appearance (shape and form, surface texture, colour, etc.) play in the design's function? What does the robot look like? Is there a reason for it to look as it does?	Shape and form are important to a design's aesthetic qualities, ergonomics, strength, stability, rigidity, safety Surface texture, finish and colour can be appropriate to a design's:aesthetic qualities, mechanical, optical and thermal properties, durability, etc.
3. What materials are suitable for the design?	The properties of a material will determine its suitability for a design. For our work with robotics we have chosen to work with LegoT™. However, there are many different types of materials that can be and are used in the construction of robots. strength, hardness, toughness, density durability and the aesthetic qualities determined by colour, surface texture, pattern, etc. The materials cost and availability are also important factors.
4. What construction methods are appropriate to the design?	Construction techniques fall into the categories of: cutting and shaping fabrication - the assembly of the parts using screws, bolts, glues, solder, etc moulding - by the application of a force on the material casting - using a mould to form the shape of a solidifying material A particular material can only be worked in a limited number of ways. The method of construction therefore will be determined by the chosen material, the availability of manufacturing facilities, the skills of the work force and the production costs.
5. What are the likely social and environmental effects of the design?	The manufacture, use and disposal of any product will have both beneficial and detrimental effects upon people, wildlife and the environment. The designer therefore, has an enormous responsibility to consider very carefully the potential effects of any new design. This will include: health and safety factors, noise, smell, pollution, etc.

Gathering information can involve reading, listening, conducting interviews and observing.

A specification is a detailed description of the problem to be solved. It should 'spell out' exactly what the design must achieve.

Define Robot

Defining the Problem

• identifying the purpose of a construction
• identifying specific requirements

You are confronted with a situation. Here are two examples:

A community wants to construct a robot zoo in which the "animals" move their heads, open their mouths and make appropriate sounds when they sense that someone is coming towards them. Design and build a prototype device which could satisfy this need.

A local pet shop wishes to sell a range of devices which automatically feed small cage pets (such as rabbits, gerbils, mice etc.) when their owners are away for the weekend. Design and build a prototype device which could satisfy this need.

You need to determine what problem you are trying to solve before you attempt to design and build a robot to solve a problem. Take the time to study a number of different situations and once you have decided what the situation is and you understand exactly what the problem is then write a design brief in a log book (this will be your working document as you work on your robot. This log book can be a paper notebook or an electronic document.) This is a short statement which explains the problem that is to be solved.

Robot Classification

We have classified robots alphabetically according to the name that the students have given their robot. Robots are often classified according to their generation, level of intelligence, level of control and level of programming language.

Alien Streetcleaner and Woodcutter This robot has wings, antennae, and green and blue lights that flash. "The Alien Streetcleaner and Woodcutter" moves forwards and backwards, as well, it has a light sensor to tell the robot when it is approaching an obstacle. Imagine this crazy Alien cleaning your street and cutting your wood!

The Beetle This robot is very strong and powerful. The RCX box is secured to the top of the robot. The motor attachment design was strengthened, which helped the gears stay meshed together properly. A touch sensor prevents the Beetle from bumping into walls, while the light sensor turns on the the light when it g dark.

Bug Our bug moves forwards and backwards and keeps going until it bumps into something. It changes direction when it does bump into something. Also the eyes light up while it is going and turn off when it bumps into something. Dr. Friesen added an additional challenge to us. We needed to create our robot using only one motor so that we would learn how to use gears and pulleys to transfer energy.

Car We built a car with two different sensors, a touch sensor and a light sensor. The light sensor would work at the front of the car and the touch sensor at the back of the car. When the car approaches an object and gets too close, it will turn to avoid the object. When the car backs into an object it will stop and move forward. Dr. Friesen added an additional challenge to us. We needed to create our robot using only one motor so that we would learn how to use gears and pulleys to transfer energy.

Cricket Our cricket moves forwards and backwards using a pulley to drive the wheels. It shows that you can have a robot travel without being built with the RCX unit. The Cricket is not an autonomous robot.

Driller (video link) Our robot drills through things, like paper. To put our robot to the test, we decided to battle a friend's robot and guess what, we won, but our front wheels fell off.

Giraffe Robot We created a giraffe robot. Animal robots are fun to make. They help you to understand how an animal moves. It was a real challenge to make the head of our giraffe go up and down while the it was moving forwards and backwards. Dr. Friesen added an additional challenge to us. We needed to create our robot using only one motor so that we would learn how to use gears and pulleys to transfer energy.

The Killer Dragster This robot is an aerodynamic dragster built for racing. It uses gears instead of pulleys. The structure of the dragster is strong because, in the beginning, it tended to break appart due to the incredible speed that it travelled. This new and improved dragster travels at a super speed and stays together at the same time. A touch sensor keeps the robot from running into obstacles.

Madison the Cat This robot is designed to catch mice. The robot's two eyes light up and its tail wags as it moves. This robot was also very structurally strong. By bracing the motor on the back of the robot, the creators of Madison did not experience a problem with the forces that the gears exerted on the structure. The design enabled Madision to climb steep hills. This group also built a baby cat named Sreva, that sits on Madison's back.

The Pooper Scooper Dog owners would pay a fortune for a robot that would clean up the dog poop and if these young designers could invent a robot to perform this tedious, smelly task, they would be able to market it and become rich.

Robo (video link) Robo , our robot is quite unique. It can "walk". We were very excited by this challange and quickly figured out that a two legged robot was impossible. Our three legged robot is designed to hit an object, turn away and continue on its way. We accomplished this with a touch sensor.

The Rocket Meet the Killer Dragster's competition. Despite numerous attempts and many rebuilds, this robot always came in second. A light sensor keeps the car from running into obstacles, like the Killer Dragster.

Scaredy Cat We wanted to create a robot that behaved like a frightened cat. It moves forwards and backwards and keeps going until the light sensor registers that it is now dark which means that it has bumped into something. It quicky changes direction when it bumps into something so it looks like it is afraid. scardy cat robot that went forwards and backwards. Dr. Friesen added an additional challenge to us. We needed to create our robot using only one motor so that we would learn how to use gears and pulleys to transfer energy.

Ship Loading Robot This robot moves film containers filled with sand from a loading dock to a ship. This site contains the various robots that were created to solve the problem.

The Tank The tank was originally intended to shoot cannons. Gears move a platform with a cannonball on it. Once the platform was moved to a certain point the cannonball would pop off the platform like it was being shot.

Y2K1 Music Bug This robot sings Beethoven's Fifth Symphony while it covers a terrain.