Making Music More Inclusive with Hospiano

Abstract

Music brings people together; it is a universal language that can help us be more expressive and help us understand our feelings and emotions in a better manner. The "Hospiano" robot is a prototype developed with the goal of making music accessible to all, regardless of physical ability. The robot acts as a pianist and can be placed in hospital lobbies and wards, playing the piano in response to the gestures and facial expressions of patients (i.e. head movement, eye and mouth movement, and proximity). It has three main modes of operation: "Robot Pianist mode", in which it plays pre-existing songs; "Play Along mode", which allows anyone to interact with the music; and "Composer mode", which allows patients to create their own music. The software that controls the prototype's actions runs on the Robot Operating System (ROS). It has been proven that humans and robots can interact fluently via a robot's vision, which opens up a wide range of possibilities for further interactions between these logical machines and more emotive beings like humans, resulting in an improvement in the quality of life of people who use it, increased inclusivity, and a better world for future generations to live in.