FABRIC: FAbricating Bodily-Expressive Robots for Inclusive and Low-Cost Design

Abstract

Sign language serves individuals with hearing impairments as a crucial communication mode operating through visual-manual means. While there has been established theory and agreement about embodiment in multiple fields, only limited research has deeply engaged to lower access to the physical body for spatial perception and engagement. Embodied robots are often cost-prohibitive, and existing open-source robot fabrication packages are limited in their ability to fully address communication nuances, typically running only on predefined programs. Reprogramming for broader bodily interactions, such as gestures in various domains (e.g., construction), is nearly impossible unless expertise precedes. We introduce FABRIC, an end-to-end toolkit for fabricating and programming bodily language for unique human-robot interactions. The toolkit includes a fully 3D-printable robot, designed for consumer-grade FDM machinery, that learns from demonstration (LfD) to capture and translate users’ bodily expressions through its upper torso (arms and hands) movements. A visual programming interface enables appending or sequencing demonstrations from various sources, i.e., videos, cameras, and expandable word/phrase/sentence libraries.