Calico Robot Assistant: The Tiny, On-Cloth Wearable Device That Can Zip Around Your Clothing

Scientists from Small Artifacts Lab (SMART LAB) at the University of Maryland are currently developing a relocatable on-cloth robot with fast, reliable, and precise motion. Also known as Calico, the miniature relocatable wearable system can perform on-body sensing and interaction for various purposes.

How Does Calico Work?

The 18-gram device consists of a two-wheel robot and a special track sewn above your clothing to serve as a railway on which the device travels. As it traverses the garment, it can do all kinds of functions, such as listening to your heart and guiding you through a fitness session. Calico was designed to be self-contained with extra sensor expansion options. Rotational switches enable it to follow complex routing when presented with diverging tracks.

The tiny robot can carry a 20-gram payload and achieve speeds between 115 to 227 millimeters per second, depending on the direction of the travel. It comes with a low-power design so that the 100-milliampere-hour battery can stay over 8 hours in an idle state. Meanwhile, the battery can last up to 30 minutes with continuous motion. The operating time of the rover can be further extended through wireless charging technology.

Localization is one of the biggest issues for Calico since a precise method is needed to determine its location in your clothing. The research team addressed this challenge by implanting neodymium magnets into the garment tracks at regular intervals, which serve as markers. Calico detects these magnets using onboard sensors and uses them to estimate the location of the robot. This way, the wearable system can effectively plan a route across your body. The robot does not miss a single marker throughout the development cycle, indicating a very effective system.

Future Plans for the Robot Assistant

Members of SMART LAB propose other applications for their wearable tiny robot. For instance, it can come with a microphone and a stethoscope to allow the device to sense a person's vital signs. It can traverse to a predefined location to enable doctors to listen to your organs while teleoperating in real time. It can also detect falls since it has a built-in accelerometer.

Learning how to dance or trying a new workout routine can also be made possible with the tiny robot. The wearable system can effectively guide your movements, monitor your form, and offer feedback on your performance. If these ideas are extended to the medical field, Calico can be applied in rehabilitation by serving as a progress monitor and a motivator in performing exercises.

Because the device has no display, providing meaningful feedback to the user becomes challenging. To address this problem, the creators of Calico suggested data physicalization. For instance, the progress on specific tasks can be shown by moving your arm into a physical progress bar. Progressively hitting your daily goals will make the device turn your arm further.

More customizations can be made with the wearable device. Some fur and googly eyes show a fluffy robot crawling in your body. Other elements, such as LEDs, sound, and displays, can also be added. The creators of Calico plan to apply their invention to various industries, such as workout tutorials, health monitoring, and making fashion statements.