More movement
Visitors wanted the robot to move more. Additional movements have been added since the event.
Where the project stands
NAO, the robot at the BUas Visitor Centre, is now fully operational. It listens to visitors' questions, answers them out loud from a verified knowledge base, and points the way, with a member of the team always nearby as the fallback. User testing has begun, and this event was an important early step.
The technical side is described on the NAO project page. This post is about what happened when the robot met its audience.
The event
I had the opportunity to test, present and use NAO at a major Hotel Management event at the university. Hotel management is the home of front-desk service, so it was a fitting audience for a reception robot.
NAO worked at the reception desk throughout the event, and it captured a lot of attention among the visitors.
Working with the Visitor Centre team
NAO is designed to support the Visitor Centre team, not to replace it, so working alongside the students who staff the desk was an important part of the test.
What the visitors told us
The event gave me valuable user feedback. It came down to two clear requests, and both have already been put into practice.
More knowledge
Visitors wanted the robot to know more. Its knowledge has been extended since the event.
What comes next
Because the requests from the event are already part of the robot, the path from feedback to change has been short. Testing with visitors continues at the Visitor Centre, and each round of feedback goes straight back into the robot.
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