Furhat robotics Robot User manual

Furhat Robotics

Robot Owners Guide

Product Documentation

Version 1.4

 
Contents 
Contents 2 
Introduction 4 
Getting Started 6 
Your Robot 6 
Unboxing 7 
Preparation 7 
Start Up 8 
Shut Down 8 
Robot Type 9 
Using The Rotary Controller & On-Face Menu 9 
On-Face Menu Functions 10 
Using Other Input Devices 10 
External Keyboard 10 
External Screen/Touch Panel 10 
First Time Network Connection 11 
Fixed Ethernet Connection 11 
WiFi Connection 11 
Verifying Internet Connection 12 
Using An External Screen With Your Robot 12 
Setting Up External Screen 12 
Using Your Robot 14 
Running Skills On Your Robot 14 
Developing On Your Robot 14 
Operating Your Robot Using Web-Console 14 
Home Tab 15 
Video Panel 17 
Gaze Control 17 
Roll Control 17 
Speech Output Panel 18 
Speech Recognition Panel 18 
Home Settings Panel 18 
Gesture Panel 19 
Skills Tab 20 
Installing Skills 20 
Running & Managing Skills 21 
       Copyright Furhat Robotics AB © 2020 - Commercial In Confidence   

 
Dashboard Tab 22 
Video Panel 22 
Gaze Control 22 
Wizard Panel 22 
Attention Panel 23 
Skill Log Panel 24 
Wizard Tab 25 
Settings Tab 25 
Face & Neck Settings Panel 26 
Microphone Settings 29 
Recognizer Settings 29 
Voice Settings Panel 31 
Asset Management Panel 33 
Network Settings Panel 34 
Security Settings Panel 36 
Support Panel 36 
Update Panel 37 
Camera Panel 37 
Robot Deployment Guidelines 39 
General Environment Design Considerations 39 
Additional Spatial Design Considerations 39 
Lighting Considerations 41 
Ambient Noise Considerations 41 
Microphone Placement Considerations 41 
External Monitor Placement Considerations 41 
Physical Security Considerations 42 
Caring For Your Robot 43 
Environmental 43 
Operations & Handling 43 
Cleaning & Periodic Maintenance 44 
Transportation 44 
Furhat Skills 45 
Support 46 
Troubleshooting 47 
Revision History 51 
Glossary 52 
       Copyright Furhat Robotics AB © 2020 - Commercial In Confidence   

Introduction

The Robot Owners Guide is intended to serve as a guide to your Furhat Robot. It covers:

●Getting Started



: Introduces the Robot and helps you get your robot set up

●Using Your Robot



: Takes you through all of the robots features, controls, and interfaces

●Caring For Your Robot



: Describes the recommended care instructions for your robot

●Furhat Skills



: Introduces the concept of Skills and describes pre-loaded Skills

●Troubleshooting



: Provides helpful information on troubleshooting your robot

●Support



: Describes how you can get support when you need it

For information relating to the comprehensive technical specifications of your robot, please refer

to the Furhat Robotics Technical Product Overview

The contents of this document are subject to continuous improvement and revision, in line with

the evolution of Furhat products. Please visit our website at furhatrobotics.com for the latest

information, data, and software. For questions relating to this document please contact

[email protected]

Getting Started

This chapter describes how to unpack, set up, and get your robot up & running.

Your Robot

Your robot comes packaged in its own protective hardshell case which includes the Furhat

Robot Unit and all basic accessories. The product package includes the following items:

Protective Hardshell Case

Furhat Robot Unit

Standard Adult Mask Model

Robot Power Supply

AC Mains Cable

USB Microphone

Unboxing

Following these steps will enable you to get your robot safely and correctly unpacked

● Remove the cardboard shipping packaging from the exterior of the protective hardshell case

● Place the case on a firm, flat surface, with its feet down and the Furhat logo facing up

● Locate the 4 lid locking clasps, open them one by one, by firmly pulling up on each clasp

● Open the lid of the case, revealing the white robot cover plate with Furhat logo cut-out

● Lift off the white robot cover plate, safely store it to the side, placing it back in the case later

● Carefully lift the robot unit out, taking care to protect the neck articulation as you lift

● Place the robot unit on a firm, flat, uncluttered surface, with access to AC power

● If the face mask is not already mounted, locate the mask, and mount it to the head

● Seat the mask carefully, snapping it into place, using the 4 magnetic location tabs

● Visually check that your robot is clean and free of damage

Preparation

After unboxing, follow these steps in order to complete initial setup of your robot:

● Locate the USB microphone and plug it into one of the USB ports at the rear of the robot

● If you are planning to configure your robot to connect to a wired ethernet network

○ Connect a live ethernet cable to the ethernet network port at the rear of the robot

● If you are planning to configure your robot to connect to a password protected WiFi network

○ You will require an input device for password entry (see input devices below)

● Locate the Power supply module & firmly insert the DC plug into the power port of the robot

● Connect the AC mains cable to the power supply module & an appropriate AC outlet

Start Up

Once your robot has been prepared, you are ready to startup & configure your robot as follows:

● Push the Power button on the rear of the robot once to start the robot

● Your robot’s face will illuminate, and after a few seconds, the robots face will be displayed

● The face will display natural face movements such as eye movements after startup

Shut Down

In order to shutdown your robot, please do as follows:

● Push the Power button on the rear of the robot once to shut down the robot

● Disconnect the robot from its AC power source , unless you plan to use it soon thereafter.

1

1 Currently shipping robots continue to power the projector system as long as the robot is connected to an AC power source.

Robot Type

A Furhat robot can be of two types: Production or Research, these types are configured in

software by Furhat Robotics. The different types enable specific software functions; for

example, research robots have access to the full library of voices from Acapela and also have

the Camera Feed feature enabled. You can check your robot’s type in the settings tab of the

Web-Console, robots configured as type Research have a camera settings panel visible in the

Web-Console.

Using The Rotary Controller & On-Face Menu

Your robot has a built-in rotary controller, located at its rear. The rotary controller is used to

control the audio volume of the robot, as well as to activate and use the robots on-face menu.

Rotating the controller wheel raises and lowers the robots audio volume, with the robots LED

ring increasing in brightness in proportion to the set audio volume.

Selecting the center button of the rotary controller has two functions. The first is to activate the

on-face menu, the second is to select an item that has been highlighted on the menu.

Within the on-face menu, rotating the controller wheel moves (scrolls) the menu cursor to any

desired menu item. Pressing the center button selects that menu item and navigates to the

related sub-menu or action. Selecting the Back or Exit menu item enables you to navigate up

a level in the menu or close the menu. Double pressing the center button also closes the menu.

On-Face Menu Functions

The On-Face menu provides access to the following features on your robot:

●Speak IP Address: Selecting this menu item will cause your robot to speak the IP

address which it has been assigned from it's currently connected network.

●Manage Wlan: This menu item will enable you to view the currently available WiFi

networks, as well as select and connect/disconnect from a particular network.

●Skills: Selecting this menu item allows you to view the currently installed skills, stop any

running skill, and start any specific skill on your robot.

●WiFi-LAN: This menu item enables you to use your robot to create a WiFi hotspot, to which

you can connect a device of your choosing, and then access the robots Web-Console.

●Reset Password: This menu item will reset your robots password to the default (admin)

●Reboot Furhat: Selecting this menu item will restart your robot.

Using Other Input Devices

In addition to the built-in rotary controller, your robot also supports a number of additional input

devices that can be used to configure as well as enter data into the robot.

External Keyboard

You can connect an external keyboard to your robot via one of the robots USB ports. The

keyboard can then be used to control the on-face menu, to enter text into password fields, and

so on. Note that your robot always assumes a US Keyboard layout for connected keyboards.

External Screen/Touch Panel

It is possible to connect an external screen/touch panel to your robot via using the robot's USB

2

ports. This screen/touch panel can be used to access the robots Web-Console and also enable

data entry via touch and on screen/panel virtual keyboard. For details on connecting an external

screen/touch panel, please see the separate section below.

2 Generally the USB-C port is used to supply HDMI signal (using an adapter) to the screen, and an additional USB-A port is used to

handle input data (e.g. touch events, virtual keyboard input) from the screen to your robot

First Time Network Connection

Your robot requires a connection to the public internet to access cloud based services such as

speech synthesis, speech recognition, software update, remote support functions etc.

You can connect the robot to your fixed ethernet or WiFi network, and the robot supports

fetching it's network parameters via DHCP . One you have configured a network connection,

3

your robot will remember it's settings for future use

Fixed Ethernet Connection

● If the robot is connected to a fixed ethernet network via an ethernet cable, it will attempt to

configure its network settings via the fixed ethernet connection using DHCP

● Once the robot has started, press the center button of the rotary controller in order to access

the robot on-face menu, the menu displays the robot’s IP address if successfully configured.

WiFi Connection

● Press the center button of the robots rotary controller in order to access the robot on-face

menu. Rotate the controller wheel in order to scroll up or down on the menu, select the

Manage WLAN menu option by clicking the center button.

● Use the controller wheel to navigate to your desired WiFi network and click the center button

in order to select that network. If the network requires a password: an input field will be

shown on the menu, use a USB connected keyboard (not included) to enter the password

and confirm its entry. Password entry is also supported by using an external screen.

● Use the controller wheel to navigate to the Back menu item and select it, you will return to

the top level menu, where the robot’s IP address is displayed if successfully configured.

● Select the Exit menu item to remove the on-face menu from the robot’s face.

Beyond the use of the rotary controller and a keyboard, there are two additional ways in which

you can configure the first time network settings.

● Use the WiFi-LAN feature on the on-face menu in order to create a WiFi hotspot hosted by

your robot. Then use a device of your choice to connect to that WiFi hotspot and use the

Web-Console to configure the robot network settings.

3 Please ensure that your ethernet or WiFi connection supports DHCP & admits/routes traffic as required by standard devices

● Connect An external screen, and login to the Web-Console using the screen, then use the

Web-Console to configure the robot network settings.

Verifying Internet Connection

In order to verify that your connection is working, simply follow these steps:

● Enter the on-face menu by clicking on the center button of the rotary controller. The on-face

menu should display an IP address at the top of the menu.

● Log in to the robots Web-Console and use the Test The Speech Recognizer Panel on

the Home Tab. The speech recognition features require a working internet connection.

Using An External Screen With Your Robot

You can connect an external screen/touch panel

to your robot via using the robot's USB ports.

This screen/touch panel can be used to access

the robots Web-Console and also enable data

entry via touch and on screen/panel virtual

keyboard.

An external screen can also be used by Skills to

extend their user interactions beyond the robot to

GUI based interactions on the screen.

Setting Up External Screen

Always observe the instructions that come with your external screen in relation to its operation

and connections, as a large variety of screens and connectivity options exist. With your robot

switched off, connect the screen to your robot as follows:

● Some screens support video, power and touch via single USB-C cable. For such screens,

simply connect the screen to the robots USB-C port using the single USB cable.

● For screens that use HDMI, connect the screen’s HDMI port to your robot USB-C port (using

an appropriate USB-C/HDMI adapter)

● For screens that use HDMI and support touch capabilities, a USB cable is used to transmit

touch events from the screen to the robot, connect this cable to a USB-A port on your robot.

● Connect the screen to an appropriate power source and switch on the screen using the

appropriate control/power button on the screen.

● Switch on your robot. The robot will detect the attached screen and present the

Web-Console login page on the screen.

● On screens with touch capabilities, you can login using the virtual keyboard function.

Touching and holding down the password field on the screen will bring up the virtual

keyboard. Enter the appropriate password (default = admin) using the virtual keyboard and

select the continue icon to log in to the Web-Console landing on the Home Tab.

Using Your Robot

Running Skills On Your Robot

Skill is the name given to applications that run on your robot. Skills enable the robot to interact

with users in the robots interaction space using speech input and output, facial expressions,

gestures and motor movements, tapping into the full expressive power of the robot.

If you have skills installed on your robot, you can View,Start and Stop any of these using

the skills sub-menu in the on-face menu.

You can also View,Start,Stop,Install and Uninstall skills from your robot using the

Skills features within the robots Web-Console.

Developing On Your Robot

If you are using your robot as part of a Robot Development Kit (RDK), you will need the Furhat

SDK and can access all of the SDK documentation, as well as documentation relating to the use

of your robot with the SDK at www.furhat.io

Operating Your Robot Using Web-Console

Your robot has a Web-Console that allows you to access, control, and configure the robot

remotely using a web browser. In order to access the Web-Console you should connect the

Computer / Tablet / Device from which you intend to access the Web-Console to the same

network as you have connected your robot in the earlier configuration steps.

Your robot uses its robot name as it's formal host name on your network, so simply typing the

robot name into your browser URL pane should navigate you to the robot login page

Note that some browsers or devices do not support the use of the robot host name as shorthand

in the browser URL, and may require you to enter the IP address (see on-face menu) and http://

prefix in order to access the Web-Console.

Once on the Web-Console login page you can use the default password admin to login.

You can change the default password to a password of your choosing using the on-face menu

or the security settings page of the Web-Console itself.

Home Tab

The Home Tab provides access to basic remote control features for your robot, as well as

enabling a few of the most high level configuration options.

At the top of the home panel you can see information on which skill is running on your robot, as

well as the user account icon and the console log icon.

Selecting the user account icon reveals the options to Logout the current user which will

return to the Web-Console login page. Selecting the Restart System menu item will restart

FurhatOS, note that selecting restart will also result in you being logged off the Web-Console

requiring you to login again once the system has completed its restart.

Selecting the console log icon will expand the console log view within

the page. The console shows important log messages from your robot,

and is especially useful when developing Skills or assessing the

performance and actions of the system

The console log also enables you to include or exclude

log entries using type and origin filters.

The type filter enables you to show log entries

according to their severity level.

The origin filter enables you to show log entries

according to their origin. Selecting origin skill results

in only log messages from Skills being displayed.

Selecting origin system results in only log messages

from FurhatOS being displayed

The Home Panel also contains a number of additional features as follows

Video Panel

The Video Panel shows live video from the robots onboard camera. The video feed is overlaid

with marker boxes when the robot has identified the presence of users in the interaction space

of the robot.

Gaze Control

The Video Panel also enables you to remotely direct the gaze of the robot via motor movements

of the robots neck motion platform.

You can direct the gaze of your robot

using a mouse inside the video panel.

The targeting double circle visible in

the video panel indicates the current

gaze position of the robots head

Clicking on a position within the video

panel will result in the robot's head

moving to direct its gaze to that

position, in its field of view

Clicking and dragging your mouse

within the video panel will result in the

robots head following the drag

movements of your mouse.

Roll Control

Your robot’s neck motion platform supports 3DOF (3 degrees of freedom motion). The Roll

Control enables you to remotely direct the roll angle of the neck from the Web-Console.

Clicking on the roll control enables you to adjust the roll angle from -20 degrees of vertical to

+20 degrees of vertical.

Speech Output Panel

The Speech Output Panel enables you to enter text of your choosing, and on selecting the

Play button, having the robot speak the entered text, using it's speech synthesis features

Note that the voice used in speech output is the voice selected in the Home Settings Panel.

Speech Recognition Panel

The Speech Recognition Panel enables you to test the function of the robot microphones as

well as speech recognition feature.

When you select the Listen button, the robot will indicate that it is listening. Simply speak

some words or a sentence of your choosing (in English), and the robots' understanding of your

speech will appear in text on the Speech Recognition Panel. The orange bar dynamically

indicates the amplitude (volume) of audio detected by the robots microphone, as you speak.

If the robot does not register your speech - check the settings tab to verify your microphone

settings and verify your internet connection, as internet connectivity is required by the speech

recognizer features.

Home Settings Panel

The Home Settings Panel gives you access to some of the most frequently used settings on the

Home Tab (these settings are also all available under the Settings Tab).

Mask Model enables you to select a face geometry,

the standard mask model is called Adult, and this

matches the default physical mask shipped as

standard with your robot. Other mask models may

require different physical masks in order to function

correctly.

Texture enables the selection of a face texture set,

which is used to paint the mask model, giving your

robot different facial identities. Your robot includes a

set of different textures allowing you to vary your robots look, with the default physical mask

Voice enables you to configure your robots voice. A large number of male and female voices in

a large selection of international languages is available for your robot. Your robot supports

voices from providers such as Amazon Polly



, Acapela



and Cereproc.

Speaker allows you to select the sound output device. Your robot includes a built-in

loudspeaker system (PCH Default) while also allowing you to connect and use additional

output devices such as those connected to the line-out jack or USB connected audio devices.

Gesture Panel

The Gesture Panel enables you to remotely direct all of the built-in gestures on your robot. For

example you can direct your robot to:

Smile

Blink

Frown

Raise Brow

Express Anger

Express Disgust

Express Fear

Gaze Away

Nod

Express Ohh

Close eyes,

Open Eyes

Roll

Shake

Smile

Surprise

Look Thoughtful

Wink

Skills Tab

The Skills Tab gathers features related to skill management. This includes viewing the list of

installed skills, importing/deleting skills, starting/stopping skills, and configuring skills.

The top bar of the Skills Tab indicates the name of the currently running skill. The top bar also

includes a Stop button which will stop the currently running skill. In addition, a skill can include

a GUI component which provides additional skill features via a browser based GUI, this GUI (if

present) is accessed by pressing the grey GUI button.

Installing Skills

The Skills Tab enables you to import new skills on your robot. This feature is accessed using

the Import Skill Button.

Furhat Robotics Robot User manual

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