Jubileo: An Immersive Simulation Framework for Social Robot Design

Abstract

This paper introduces Jubileo, an open-source simulated humanoid robot as a framework for the development of human-robot interaction applications. By leveraging the power of the Robot Operating System (ROS) and Unity in a virtual reality environment, this simulation establishes a strong connection to real robotics, faithfully replicating the robot's physical components down to its motors and enabling communication with servo-actuators to control both the animatronic face and the joints of a real humanoid robot. To validate the capabilities of the framework, we propose English teaching games that integrate Virtual Reality (VR), game-based Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), and advanced large language models such as Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT). These games aim to foster linguistic competence within dynamic and interactive virtual environments. The incorporation of large language models bolsters the robot's capability to generate human-like responses, thus facilitating a more realistic conversational experience. Moreover, the simulation framework reduces real-world testing risks and offers a cost-effective, efficient, and scalable platform for developing new HRI applications. The paper underscores the transformative potential of converging VR, large language models, and HRI, particularly in educational applications.