Introducing M: A Modular, Modifiable Social Robot
This addresses the need for more accessible and reproducible social robotics research, though it is incremental as it builds on existing modular and open-source concepts.
The authors tackled the problem of platform friction in social robotics research by introducing M, an open-source, low-cost modular robot platform, resulting in a design that supports real-world deployments like week-long in-home studies and provides example interaction templates.
We present M, an open-source, low-cost social robot platform designed to reduce platform friction that slows social robotics research by making robots easier to reproduce, modify, and deploy in real-world settings. M combines a modular mechanical design, multimodal sensing, and expressive yet mechanically simple actuation architecture with a ROS2-native software package that cleanly separates perception, expression control, and data management. The platform includes a simulation environment with interface equivalence to hardware to support rapid sim-to-real transfer of interaction behaviors. We demonstrate extensibility through additional sensing/actuation modules and provide example interaction templates for storytelling and two-way conversational coaching. Finally, we report real-world use in participatory design and week-long in-home deployments, showing how M can serve as a practical foundation for longitudinal, reproducible social robotics research.