Date of Award

8-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Committee Chair/Advisor

Dr. Ian Walker

Committee Member

Dr. Judson Ryckman

Committee Member

Dr. Apoorva Kapadia

Committee Member

Dr. Ge Lv

Abstract

This work explores and introduces prototype hardware for a new category of robots: ‘Robot Rooms’, in an effort to refine the concept of traditional smart spaces and human-robot interaction. Unlike traditional robots that tend to be compact and exist within a space, this new category of robots is designed to be expansive: they do not exist within a space but rather shape space around them. We present several design concepts for potential robotic elements of a Robot Room. We then develop and demonstrate, at full scale, a new and novel concept: a ‘slice’ of a Robot Room. This slice changes between an open space and various configurations identified as important to human activities in the home. It does so by creating chairs, a table, a bed, and a shelf, as desired by a human user. Testing of the prototype establishes the feasibility of the proposed Robot Room slice concept, and validates the ability to engineer it within prespecified specifications

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