Phobot

<h2 id="behaviour">Behaviour</h2>
<p>When Phobot sees a larger robot, it retreats, and spins around, making high pitched noises, seemingly in panic.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> When it is gradually exposed to smaller robots, and is coached by holding its hands and talking to it in a soothing manner, it learns to overcome its fear.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> This approach mimics the process of systematic desensitization, or graded exposure treatment, common in the treatment of phobias.
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<h2 id="design">Design</h2>
<p>Phobot was built for a competition at the international conference on human-robot interaction 2008 from a <a href="/facts/Lego_Mindstorms/WhKlrqE6">Lego Mindstorms</a> robot kit, and its behaviour implemented in the Mindstorms software.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> It uses <a href="/facts/RFID/4CnmIV2b">RFID</a>, sound and touch sensors to interact with humans.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> It was designed as a low cost proof of concept for an affective robot, coaching children to deal with phobias and anxieties.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
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<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://staff.science.uva.nl/~hcramer/phobot/">Phobot homepage</a></li>
<li><a href="http://hri2008.org/">Human-robot interaction conference 2008</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Cowardly 'Phobot' Steals Show at Amsterdam Robot Conference". Fox News. Associated Press. 17 March 2008. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/story/cowardly-phobot-steals-show-at-amsterdam-robot-conference" target="_blank">https://www.foxnews.com/story/cowardly-phobot-steals-show-at-amsterdam-robot-conference</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"Cowardly 'Phobot' Steals Show at Amsterdam Robot Conference". Fox News. Associated Press. 17 March 2008. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/story/cowardly-phobot-steals-show-at-amsterdam-robot-conference" target="_blank">https://www.foxnews.com/story/cowardly-phobot-steals-show-at-amsterdam-robot-conference</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>gaan robots mensen vervangen. Volkskrant. March 2008. in Dutch <a href="http://www.vk.tv/video/19705" target="_blank">http://www.vk.tv/video/19705</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>"Cowardly 'Phobot' Steals Show at Amsterdam Robot Conference". Fox News. Associated Press. 17 March 2008. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/story/cowardly-phobot-steals-show-at-amsterdam-robot-conference" target="_blank">https://www.foxnews.com/story/cowardly-phobot-steals-show-at-amsterdam-robot-conference</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"Meet Phobot!". University of Amsterdam. <a href="http://staff.science.uva.nl/~hcramer/phobot/" target="_blank">http://staff.science.uva.nl/~hcramer/phobot/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>gaan robots mensen vervangen. Volkskrant. March 2008. in Dutch <a href="http://www.vk.tv/video/19705" target="_blank">http://www.vk.tv/video/19705</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Phobot open-in-new

Phobot