Blacky tour guide robot (2001) by Fernando Matia, Diego Rodriguez-Losada, Ramon Galan, Agustin Jimenez, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), Department of Automatic Control, Electronic Engineering and Industrial Computing (DISAM), Madrid, Spain. Wearing its distinctive pirate's hat, Blacky is based on a Denning Branch MRV4 with 3 wheel synchro-drive. The robot is 70cm in diameter and 140cm tall, with a ring of 24 sonars. Arrrr.
"Exhibition-like sites are appropriated places to test robot navigation algorithms. Autonomy is demonstrated by reaching the desired target, localizing itself in a complex low-structured indoor environment where objects are moved continuously, while avoiding dynamic obstacles. Experiments demonstrated that the low level controller ability of avoiding collisions was extremely useful for crowded environments. Simple reactive behaviors with voice synthesis assistance was a good solution for traveling along corridors. Humans' reaction to robots requirements [that came] for free were clearing of the way, getting bored after robot AI based reasoning system [took] some time. Adults reacted leaving space for the robot while children intentionally blocked its path or sat on the floor in front of it." – Experiments at Trade Fairs with Blacky the Robot.