Buddy

BUDDY is Blue Frog Robotics' wheeled social and telepresence robot for homes, education and care environments. An articulated head and an 8-inch touchscreen provide facial expression and visual interaction, while speakers and a microphone array support spoken exchanges. Two motorised wheels move the body, and head, wheel and lighting controls are exposed through the developer software kit for application-specific behaviour.

The perception set includes 13-megapixel colour cameras with 80-degree and 130-degree views, four infrared distance sensors, two ultrasonic distance sensors and seven infrared cliff sensors. Touch sensors in the head, body accelerometers and front lighting add interaction and environmental feedback. BUDDY measures approximately 560 by 350 by 350 millimetres and weighs about 8 kilograms. Blue Frog supplies separate user and developer documentation, allowing institutions and software teams to configure interaction, movement and remote-presence functions around the same mobile platform.