Operator interface for an autonomous mobile robot using whistle sound and a source direction detection system

We have developed a human interface system for the autonomous mobile robot, which uses whistle sound. It can detect whistle sound and its source direction in a noisy environment. The system consists of two electronic circuits. The first one discriminates and detects the whistle sound. The second measures the direction of the whistle sound source using differences in sound wave phases of three microphones. It detects whistle sound in an environment where several people are talking, and measures the source direction with an accuracy of about ± 5 degrees at open space in outdoor or room, and ± 10 degrees in narrow corridor. A simple sequence of whistle sounds is designed and used to give commands to the robot. This system is installed on our experimental autonomous robot YAMABICO. With this system, YAMABICO can follow instructions given by the operator, for example, it can come toward operator when the whistle is blown.