Using miniature humanoids as surrogate research platforms

As research in biped gait, human interaction, and social robotics expands, hardware to explore these fields is becoming valuable. The high cost and risk of full-sized humanoid robots prevents many small laboratories for exploring these areas, however. In recent years, many models of miniature humanoid robot have been introduced to the pro-sumer market. These small humanoid robots cost 1000 to 2000 USD. They are easy to operate and maintain, yet lack articulation and processing power of full-size humanoids. The objective of the authors' research is to implement a miniature humanoid robot as a surrogate for larger humanoid robotics. To demonstrate this, a miniature humanoid was used to explore creativity and dance with a humanoid robot. The authors' particular interest in humanoids is dance as an expression of creativity and hence intelligence. To move beyond preprogrammed choreography requires the ability to listen to music, interpret rhythm and express a message through dance. Employing miniature humanoids as surrogate test platforms reduces risk before algorithms are ported to full-size ones. Experimental results are presented that support the viability of this approach.