The PR2 (Personal Robot 2) is an open and robust robot platform designed from the ground up by Willow Garage for software developers and researchers. By eliminating the need to first build a hardware system and then re-implement code, the PR2 allows software experts to immediately create new functionality on the robot.
The PR2 robot is fully integrated with ROS, providing the power of all the ROS developer tools and out-of-the-box functionality for everything from full system calibration to manipulation.
We are using the PR2 for a variety of projects, including research in online sensor self-calibration for ‘power-on-and-go’ robotic systems. We are also interested in designing adaptive systems that can facilitate free-form interaction and perform robustly in social situations with children as well as adults, able-bodied as well as those with disabilities. To interact effectively with humans, we aim to make the PR2 possess verbal and nonverbal communication skills, such as speech and body language.
