Robot for autonomous operation

A robot to operate autonomously, comprising:

• a driving subsystem to autonomously move the robot;
• a stored vocabulary including a plurality of words;
• a rotatable platform;
• and
• a plurality of microphones located about the robot to detect sound;
• wherein when one of the microphones detects a sound above a minimum threshold, the rotatable platform turns toward the sound and the robot speaks one or more words from the stored vocabulary.

A robot to operate autonomously, comprising:

• a stored vocabulary including a plurality of words;
• a rotatable platform;
• a passive infrared sensor to detect a heat source;
• and
• a plurality of microphones located about the robot to detect sound;
• wherein when one of the microphones detects a sound above a minimum threshold, the passive infrared sensor scans for a heat source;
• wherein when the passive infrared sensor detects a heat source the rotatable platform turns toward the heat source and the robot speaks one or more words from the stored vocabulary.

A method for allowing a robot to autonomously operate, comprising:

• moving the robot about without direct control from a user;
• sensing for objects as the robot moves about;
• sensing for edges as the robot moves about;
• and
• changing a direction of the robot in response to the robot sensing an object or an edge to thereby prevent the robot from colliding with an object or falling off an edge.

A robot to operate autonomously, comprising:

• a body;
• a passive infrared sensor on said body to detect an object in close proximity to the robot based on a change in temperature;
• a pair of legs that keep said body elevated, each leg including a toe and a heel, and a driving mechanism to autonomously move the robot;
• four edge sensors, with one located under the toe of each leg and one under the heel of each leg, to detect an edge in close proximity to the robot;
• six active infrared emitters, with three located on each said leg, to emit infrared signals;
• and
• a signal receiving device, located on the body, to receive infrared signal reflections and detect an object in close proximity to the robot based on the reflections.