Tippy the telepresence robot

We have built Tippy, a micro telepresence robot that allows a user to remotely project him or herself into another space, move around, and communicate via video and audio. An iPod Touch running Skype provides the robot with wireless video input and output capabilities and handles the movement commands from the remote user. In order to handle the robot's movement without implementing an additional medium, we inserted the control signals visually into the video and detect the signals via light sensors connected to the motor drive system. By optically coupling the mobile device display with the robot's drive-train control, we reduce the amount of software and hardware interfacing required for the end application.