Introducing M: A Modular, Modifiable Social Robot
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
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| _version_ | 1866910060231262208 |
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| author | Antony, Victor Nikhil Gong, Zhili Kim, Yoonjae Huang, Chien-Ming |
| author_facet | Antony, Victor Nikhil Gong, Zhili Kim, Yoonjae Huang, Chien-Ming |
| contents | We present M, an open-source, low-cost social robot platform designed to reduce platform friction that slows social robotics research by making robots easier to reproduce, modify, and deploy in real-world settings. M combines a modular mechanical design, multimodal sensing, and expressive yet mechanically simple actuation architecture with a ROS2-native software package that cleanly separates perception, expression control, and data management. The platform includes a simulation environment with interface equivalence to hardware to support rapid sim-to-real transfer of interaction behaviors. We demonstrate extensibility through additional sensing/actuation modules and provide example interaction templates for storytelling and two-way conversational coaching. Finally, we report real-world use in participatory design and week-long in-home deployments, showing how M can serve as a practical foundation for longitudinal, reproducible social robotics research. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_19134 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Introducing M: A Modular, Modifiable Social Robot Antony, Victor Nikhil Gong, Zhili Kim, Yoonjae Huang, Chien-Ming Robotics Human-Computer Interaction We present M, an open-source, low-cost social robot platform designed to reduce platform friction that slows social robotics research by making robots easier to reproduce, modify, and deploy in real-world settings. M combines a modular mechanical design, multimodal sensing, and expressive yet mechanically simple actuation architecture with a ROS2-native software package that cleanly separates perception, expression control, and data management. The platform includes a simulation environment with interface equivalence to hardware to support rapid sim-to-real transfer of interaction behaviors. We demonstrate extensibility through additional sensing/actuation modules and provide example interaction templates for storytelling and two-way conversational coaching. Finally, we report real-world use in participatory design and week-long in-home deployments, showing how M can serve as a practical foundation for longitudinal, reproducible social robotics research. |
| title | Introducing M: A Modular, Modifiable Social Robot |
| topic | Robotics Human-Computer Interaction |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.19134 |