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Our world is getting older and older (OECD 2009), and therefore there is considerable expectation for more widespread home, medical, and nursing care services to assist not self-sufficient elderly people, both from the physical and psychological points of view. In this context, robots are expected to perform human tasks such as operating equipment designed for humans in dangerous environments, providing personal assistance, social care, cognitive therapy, entertainment, and education (Kozima, Nakagawa et al. 2007). These robots should be capable of a smooth and natural adaptation and interaction with their human partners as well as with the environment. They should also be able to communicate naturally with humans, especially in home and personal assistance applications for elderly and/or handicapped persons. Moreover, these devices should be safe and, more in general, should never have a negative effect on their human partners, neither physical nor emotional.

Personal robots and Robot Technology (RT)-based assistive devices are expected to play a substantial role in our society, largely populated by elders; they will play an active role in joint works and community life with humans. In particular, these robots are expected to play an important role for the assistance of elderly and disabled people during normal activities of daily living (ADLs). To achieve this result, personal robots should be also capable of human-like emotion expressions. In this perspective we developed a whole body bipedal humanoid robot, named KOBIAN, which is also capable to express human-like emotions. In this paper we present the mechanical and modular design of KOBAIN.

The aim of this paper is to discuss an ideal design procedure for biologically-inspired mechano-sensors. The main steps of this procedure are the following: (1) analysis of force and position sensors in humans; (2) analysis of technologies available for MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) and (3) design and implementation of biologically-inspired sensors in innovative mechatronic and biomechatronic systems (e.g., anthropomorphic robots, prostheses, and neuroprostheses).