Human Avatar Claw Machine
A portable human-body-tracking exhibit for a Children's Museum featuring a 6-axis collaborative robot arm with an adaptive claw for grabbing stuffed animals and prizes.
Overview
A museum exhibit developed at CMU ETC where visitors control a real 6-axis collaborative robot arm using their own body movements. A body tracking system maps the visitor’s arm pose to the robot’s end-effector, letting them reach into a physical claw machine and grab stuffed animals and prizes — like being a giant robot yourself.
My Role
Co-developed with John Balash at CMU ETC. Led body tracking integration, robot arm control pipeline, and safety/collision systems for public-facing museum deployment.
Key Features
- Real-time human body tracking mapped to 6-DOF robot arm
- Collaborative robot (cobot) with compliant force control for safety
- Adaptive claw end-effector for grabbing varied prize shapes
- Designed for unattended public museum use with robust safety bounds
- Portable setup for traveling exhibit deployment