Understanding people

At the new Cognitive Robotics lab CoR, researchers are making existing robots more flexible in how they interact with humans. These robots are intended for healthcare, industry, horticulture and retail – places where robots and humans meet. Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering Martin Klomp, for example, has developed a teaching robot named Mirte; her level of complexity can be set to the primary school phase or expanded as far as to cover the stage of PhD research. Mirte contains a small computer the size of a matchbox, a microcontroller to control electric motors, a battery and a number of sensors for light, distance and the environment. Users learn about electrical engineering, hardware as well as software and programming languages. Together with the TU Delft Science Centre, Klomp organises workshops for secondary schools. Robotic researcher Khaldon Araffa and Master’s student Amos Yusuf also work with Mirte. Araffa founded the ‘Invest in Young Talent’ initiative while still in Ukraine to give children hands-on experience with robots. He uses Mirte in schools throughout the Netherlands. Yusuf had students from the Stanislas pre-vocational/general secondary school in Delft build and programme a robot this spring.