The Social Robots Project at
Carnegie Mellon University began with the goal of investigating human-robot social interaction. Tank the Roboceptionist is the project's most recent addition. A permanent installation in the entranceway to CMU's Newell-Simon Hall in Pittsburgh, the robot handles some of the tasks a receptionist would perform, such as looking up office numbers and providing directions, but also has an interesting and compelling character. Tank uses speech capabilities to give users useful information, and uses facial and emotional expressions to improve the quality of interaction. CMU's Drama group helped to imbue the robot with human qualities by giving him a name, a personality, a back-story, and several storylines that unfold over time. CMU research professor Reid G. Simmons described some of the engineering behind Tank and his predecessor, a social robot called Valerie, and where this kind of research is headed today.