Keepon
Greg Meets Keepon
Keepon Pro is a social robot designed for interaction and research with children, particularity those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It was developed by Dr. Hideki Kozima and Dr. Marek Michalowski.
Greg first discovered Keepon in a Wired magazine article in Winter of 2011. It was love at first sight. The thought that a robot could look and move with the squashing and stretching elasticity of a cartoon completely changed how Greg thought about the field. Robots were no longer just utilitarian machines or bundles of cold, hard metal. Greg sent a cold email to Dr. Michalowski, and not too long after, the two were working together at Dr. Michalowski’s company, Beatbots. While there, Greg and Dr. Michalowski continued efforts to test Keepon at Autism clinics. Inspired by Keepon, they explored a series of new robots, Blennie, Ploomi, Roilo, and Gobug, in the hope of finding new ways for robots to interact, dance and teach us about our own humanity. In 2014, both Katz and Dr. Michalowski paused their efforts at Beatbots to join Google Robotics.
For fun, Greg continues to tinker and develop new forms of Keepon. Most recently, he designed a joy-stick controllable Keepon, with DIY instructions coming soon to this site.
More on Keepon
Under the control of a therapist, this robust hardware/software research platform serves as a social facilitator and as a recording tool in the playroom or lab.
Keepon Pro's minimal (and adorable) design has been observed to elicit positive engagement from children of varying social ability, perhaps by presenting a simplified and easy-to-understand form of the otherwise overwhelming complexities of human social behavior.
With cameras in its eyes and a microphone in its nose, Keepon Pro's playroom perceptions are transmitted to a therapist for responsive puppeteering. Precision motors in Keepon Pro's four degrees of freedom enable quiet and lifelike movement: attention is directed by turning (+/-180°) and nodding (+/-40°), while emotion is expressed by rocking side-to-side (+/-25°) and bouncing or compressing (up to 15mm). Soft rubber skin presents a tactile exterior that is safe and comfortable for small hands.
Since 2003, Keepon Pro has been used as a tool for researchers, therapists, pediatricians, and parents to observe, study, and facilitate social development and behaviors (e.g. eye contact, joint attention, touching, caregiving, and imitation) in playrooms and labs around the world.
Human social behavior shares much in common with dance. Our speech, as well as the movement of our body, head, and hands, is periodic and rhythmic. Social scientists such as William S. Condon and Adam Kendon have identified interactional synchrony as a phenomenon that plays an important role in the regulation and coordination of movements, vocalizations, and other social cues. We have been developing technology (using Cycling '74's Max/MSP) to allow robots like Keepon to synchronize with these social rhythms in their interactions.
This research into dance has resulted in Keepon Pro starring in a number of popular music videos, such as Spoon's "Don't You Evah," .
