Lantern: A Minimalist Robotic Object Platform

2026-01-29

AI Summary

This work proposes Lantern, a low-cost (approximately $40), open-source, and extensible minimalist robotic platform designed to lower the barrier to entry in human-robot interaction (HRI) research. Built upon a modular mechatronic architecture and iteratively refined through human-centered design principles, Lantern leverages humans’ tendency to ascribe social meaning to simple forms, enabling it to naturally integrate into everyday environments for socially engaging interactions. The platform’s efficacy has been validated across diverse real-world contexts—including co-design workshops, sensory rooms, university courses, and public exhibitions—demonstrating its capacity to effectively foster user engagement in scenarios such as emotion regulation and focused-task support. These findings highlight Lantern’s potential as a versatile tool for a broad spectrum of HRI studies and applications.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Cost models of using LLMs in production systems
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions

Abstract

Robotic objects are simple actuated systems that subtly blend into human environments. We design and introduce Lantern, a minimalist robotic object platform to enable building simple robotic artifacts. We conducted in-depth design and engineering iterations of Lantern's mechatronic architecture to meet specific design goals while maintaining a low build cost (~40 USD). As an extendable, open-source platform, Lantern aims to enable exploration of a range of HRI scenarios by leveraging human tendency to assign social meaning to simple forms. To evaluate Lantern's potential for HRI, we conducted a series of explorations: 1) a co-design workshop, 2) a sensory room case study, 3) distribution to external HRI labs, 4) integration into a graduate-level HRI course, and 5) public exhibitions with older adults and children. Our findings show that Lantern effectively evokes engagement, can support versatile applications ranging from emotion regulation to focused work, and serves as a viable platform for lowering barriers to HRI as a field.

Problem

• Human-Robot Interaction
• Robotic Objects
• Minimalist Design
• Accessible Robotics
• Social Robots

Innovation

• minimalist robotic object
• low-cost HRI platform
• open-source robotics
• mechatronic architecture
• socially evocative design