Konrad & Suse (2011) by the Neuroinformatics and Cognitive Robotics Lab, Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany, and Metralabs GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany. The robot platform is a SCITOS A5 augmented with an RFID antenna to detect tags buried in the floor in front of dangerous – for robots – stairways, and an infrared transmitter that lets them call the elevator and select a floor.
"The long-term research project Zuse-Guide [Lotsenroboter im Zusebau] aims at developing two autonomous interactive service robots called “Konrad” and “Suse” which are to autonomously guide and to tour visitors within the new Konrad Zuse building of the Ilmenau University of Technology, hosting the School of Computer Science and Automation on 4 floors since June 2011. The service robots are supposed to provide an intuitive interaction to potential users. Service tasks considered in this project are to autonomously navigate in the building and guide the visitors, to provide information about the different labs and to tour visitors around in the building, giving them a deeper insight into the research topics and exhibits of the institutes and labs. During their operation, the robots wait next to the main entrance doors at the ground floor and offer their service when a potential user approaches. The user can select the different functions using a touch screen-based graphical dialog system which is commented by a speech synthesis system to provide a natural and intuitive user experience. The robots also offer to guide the visitor to the destination of his/her choice and inform about news for the different institutes and labs. When the robots have finished guiding the user around, they return to their waiting position to welcome the next visitor." – Interactive Mobile Robots Guiding Visitors in a University Building.
