Leonardo (robot)

Leonardo's body by Stan Winston Studios

Leonardo is a 2.5 foot social robot, the first[1] created by the Personal Robots Group of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its development is credited to Cynthia Breazeal. The body is by Stan Winston Studios, leaders in animatronics.[2] Its body was completed in 2002.[3] It was the most complex robot the studio had ever attempted as of 2001.[4] Other contributors to the project include NevenVision, Inc., Toyota, NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, and the Navy Research Lab. It was created to facilitate the study of human–robot interaction and collaboration. A DARPA Mobile Autonomous Robot Software (MARS) grant, Office of Naval Research Young Investigators Program grant, Digital Life, and Things that Think consortia have partially funded the project. The MIT Media Lab Robotic Life Group, who also studied Robonaut 1, set out to create a more sophisticated social-robot in Leonardo. They gave Leonardo a different visual tracking system and programs based on infant psychology that they hope will make for better human-robot collaboration. One of the goals of the project was to make it possible for untrained humans to interact with and teach the robot much more quickly with fewer repetitions. Leonardo was awarded a spot in Wired Magazine’s 50 Best Robots Ever list in 2006.[3]

  1. ^ "Furry Robots, Foldable Cars and More Innovations from MIT's Media Lab". PBS. 2011-05-20. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  2. ^ "Leonardo Project Home Page". MIT Media Lab Personal Robots Group. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  3. ^ a b Robert Capps (January 2006). "The 50 Best Robots Ever". Wired Magazine.
  4. ^ "Leonardo Project Body Page". MIT Media Lab Personal Robots Group. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-02-27.