Humanoid robot platform suitable for studying embodied interaction

This paper presents the humanoid robot BARTHOC who has been developed to study human-robot interaction (HRI). The main focus of BARTHOC´s design was to realize the expression and behavior of the robot to be as human-like as possible. This allows to apply the platform to manifold research and demonstration areas. With his human-like look and mimic possibilities, he differs from other platforms like ASIMO or QRIO, and enables experiments even close to Mori´s ´uncanny valley´. The paper describes details of the mechanical and electrical design of BARTHOC together with its PC control interface. Through its humanoid appearance, it can imitate human behavior with its soft- and hardware. Currently, several components for HRI on a mobile robot platform are being ported to BARTHOC. Starting with these components, the robot´s human-like appearance enables us to study embodied interaction and to explore theories of human intelligence.