Education blog

Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) said on Monday that it will debut OLIVIA and LUCAS, the first social robots in Singapore at Robocup 2010.

Developed under A*STAR’s Social Robotics Program, a social robot is an autonomous robot that interacts and communicates with humans by following social behaviors and rules.

The program develops innovative and unique robotics technologies that will benefit both the industry and the community, targeted at various sectors including entertainment, education, security, healthcare, and home assistance.

As one of the first in this area, OLIVIA displays its ability of social interaction with human in performing daily tasks such as playing music, controlling electrical appliances and making calls.

LUCAS was designed to provide information to visitors, to carry drinks, to patrol, and for tele-presence and tele-operation.

The RoboCup 2010 kicked off here on Sunday with close to a record 500 international and local participating teams from over 40 countries and regions.