My Best Frobot

The Project

Frobot is a robot that detects facial expressions and plays appropriate music to reduce feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and stress. Using facial expression tracking and recognition algorithms (Haar Cascade and Keras), Frobot was able to read and interpret the user's emotions, and play music that improved the user’s well-being. Frobot is an inexpensive and easy-to-use device that may be used across all age groups, particularly, for vulnerable groups such as older adults and children during a pandemic when the lack of social interaction may increase the risk of mental health problems.

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Team Comments

I chose this project after seeing people around the world experiencing social isolation and loneliness during the pandemic. I wanted to develop a friendly robot which could help reduce loneliness, anxiety, or depression in people who are unable to socially engage or access mental health services.

I had to teach myself to code which involved repeated errors and I also had difficulty finding an item to house the robot so that it would look friendly.

I want to add a screen to display videos and photos to bring back special memories. Another idea is to have a feature that provides referrals to mental health professionals as needed.