Introducing M: A Modular, Modifiable Social Robot

TL;DR

M is an open-source, modular social robot platform designed to facilitate research by being easy to reproduce, modify, and deploy, with a focus on real-world applications and extensibility.

Contribution

The paper introduces M, a low-cost, modular social robot with a ROS2 software stack, simulation environment, and demonstrated real-world deployments, advancing accessible social robotics research.

Findings

Successful real-world deployments in homes and participatory design

Extensible platform with additional sensing and actuation modules

Effective sim-to-real transfer of interaction behaviors

Abstract

We present M, an open-source, low-cost social robot platform designed to reduce platform friction that slows social robotics research by making robots easier to reproduce, modify, and deploy in real-world settings. M combines a modular mechanical design, multimodal sensing, and expressive yet mechanically simple actuation architecture with a ROS2-native software package that cleanly separates perception, expression control, and data management. The platform includes a simulation environment with interface equivalence to hardware to support rapid sim-to-real transfer of interaction behaviors. We demonstrate extensibility through additional sensing/actuation modules and provide example interaction templates for storytelling and two-way conversational coaching. Finally, we report real-world use in participatory design and week-long in-home deployments, showing how M can serve as a practical foundation for longitudinal, reproducible social robotics research.