This paper addresses the field of humanoid and personal robotics—its objectives, motivations, and
technical problems. The approach described in the paper is based on the analysis of humanoid and personal robots as
an evolution from industrial to advanced and service robotics driven by the need for helpful machines, as well as a
synthesis of the dream of replicating humans.
The first part of the paper describes the development of anthropomorphic components for humanoid robots, with
particular regard to anthropomorphic sensors for vision and touch, an eight‐d.o.f. arm, a
three‐fingered hand with sensorized fingertips, and control schemes for grasping. Then, the authors propose
a user‐oriented design methodology for personal robots, and describe their experience in the design,
development, and validation of a real personal robot composed of a mobile unit integrating some of the
anthropomorphic components introduced previously and aimed at operating in a distributed working environment.
Based on the analysis of experimental results, the authors conclude that humanoid robotics is a tremendous and
attractive technical and scientific challenge for robotics research. The real utility of humanoids has still to be
demonstrated, but personal assistance can be envisaged as a promising application domain. Personal robotics also
poses difficult technical problems, especially related to the need for achieving adequate safety, proper
human–robot interaction, useful performance, and affordable cost. When these problems are solved, personal
robots will have an excellent chance for significant application opportunities, especially if integrated into
future home automation systems, and if supported by the availability of humanoid robots. © 2001 John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
