This robot host can greet visitors and lead them through an area while talking and gesturing towards the exhibits. Its speech  can be Bilingual. The advantage of this robot is that it does not take up floor space, or encumbered and impede the travel of visitors. Instead it uses ceiling space to safety traverse its run, out of reach of the general public.
     

Rail Robot Museum Host, is an unique interactive museum robotics device. The museum host robot consists of a custom fabricated rail, power supply system and  interactive robot. The colors and general appearance of the robot can be modified to compliment a wide variety of decors. In large facilities a number of robots could be configured as hosts for different sections, each with their own distinctive colors and designations. The robot’s main sections are transparent, affording an interesting and festive view into the interior, which is decoratively fortified with numerous bright light emitting diodes, which grace the printed circuit boards within.
   

In operation this affords the robot the capability of introducing it’s self, introducing the museum area and taking visitors on a tour of the area while automatically speaking and gesturing in regards to what is positioned nearby.  

The rail portion of the system supplied in an assortment of straight and bent sections to accommodate many setup configurations. The rail must be ceiling mounted with a series of appropriate brackets that are supplied. The rail must be ceiling mounted with a series of appropriate brackets. The preferred ceiling mounting height is no less than twelve feet but preferably around 15 to 16 feet. Since many structures are appropriate for this dimensional parameter the robot can be easily configured to a wide variety of locations. For extremely high ceilings the brackets must have extensions added to bring the robot down to an appropriate height for visitors to view. Naturally care must be taken for the location of the rail and the desired height to avoid extremely tall floor mounted obstacles. The rail robot configuration enables the robot to traverse a section of a museum without the difficult effect of navigating around the public.  As desired the rails system is fitted with a series of emitters, which trigger the robots actions as it navigates the museum area. When an emitter is detected the robot accepts the detection as cues to it’s actions.
 

The speech element is DAST technology, which allows actual speech and desired sounds to be impressed on a chip. The speech can be made Bilingual. The bilingual attribute involves the addition of more cueing emitters, start panel switches and additional memory space.
   

The gesturing and pivoting of the robot is provided by a series of Dayton gear motors and limits. Some of the limits are  mechanical limits and some are Omron electrical limits as needed.
  

When alterations are made to the museum’s exhibits the mannerisms and speech can be changed to meet the new requirements. To update the unit’s activities, the robot is trained to the new tasks by a simple to use input device. In effect the robot is taught the new activity instead of reprogrammed. The technology that affords this relates to a proprietary design based on our animatronics and rehabilitation robotics, which use special servo controllers we have developed. These controllers under correct adaptation can be used to convert motion data directly to memory and back again. The end result is what seems to be instantaneous learning. Variations on the basic experiments that this technology developed from have resulted in our publication in University proceedings and Awards such as the “Discover Award For Technological Innovation”.
   

The mode of operation for the robots can follow a few different formats depending on the setup.  The Robots travel can be started automatically on a timer or initiated at a push of a button when a tour group arrives.  The track configuration can either proceed in a loop or a terminating run. As a terminating run the robot’s cues are modified accordingly so that it either starts from each end or returns to the beginning as it’s only starting point.
   

The rail power is 13.8 VDC provided with a power supply which is adapted to the local utilities configuration. The primary for the power supply features a GFI protection system as an added safety measure.
   

As illustrated the rail guide on the robot is configured to lock the unit on the rail so that it is always secured properly. The wheels that run it also feature a spring loaded assembly that limits the torque the wheels can apply. This provides an  additional safety feature when encountering unexpected obstacle.

The robot will measure approximately three and one half feet tall and be fabricated out of aluminum, polycarbonate, acrylic, UHMW and other quality well engineered material. A partial list of the materials and components follows.
    

Fabrication proposal for an interactive robot capable of sixteen minutes of DAST recorded speech, mobile robotic torso, two electromechanical arms for gesturing, control panel, sensors, control system with thirty cueing emitters and 80 feet of rail complete with appropriate power supplies and mounting brackets.  Price also does not include on location installation.  Prices are stated in US currency. Customs and associated shipping and installation costs are to be incurred by the purchaser.

Price for project as conveyed in the text above is: $ 58,000. US 

Please Note; for additional rail footage and associated components, please contact us. More than One Unit Can Be Provided: Additional robots can be fabricated simultaneously if needed.