Identification and distance estimation of users and objects by means of electronic beacons in social robotics

Social robots are intended to coexist and to communicate with humans in a natural way. This requires these robots to be able to identify people (and objects) around them to use that information during human-robot dialogs. In this work we present how electronic beacons can benefit the interactions between humans and social robots. In particular, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy beacons are presented as the most suitable option, among the up-to-date available technologies. In order to show the advantages of the system during human-robot interaction, first, we present the integration of the information provided by these devices in the robot's dialog system; and after, a hidden toy hunt game is described as a case study of a scenario where electronic beacons ease the interaction between humans and a social robot. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.