Title: Enabling a Pepper Robot to provide Automated and Interactive Tours of a Robotics Laboratory,
Abstract: The Pepper robot has become a widely recognised face for the perceived
potential of social robots to enter our homes and businesses. However, to date,
commercial and research applications of the Pepper have been largely restricted
to roles in which the robot is able to remain stationary. This restriction is
the result of a number of technical limitations, including limited sensing
capabilities, and have as a result, reduced the number of roles in which use of
the robot can be explored. In this paper, we present our approach to solving
these problems, with the intention of opening up new research applications for
the robot. To demonstrate the applicability of our approach, we have framed
this work within the context of providing interactive tours of an open-plan
robotics laboratory.