“The Dog-Roach” is an interactive robot designed to focus on a treatment for cockroach phobia (Katsaridaphobia).
The concept behind this project is that the cockroach should be the one scared of you and not the way around. It encourages the player to vanquish his fear of cockroaches, a practice the phobic player would hopefully do against a real cockroach.
It is a robotic cockroach that won’t move unless you do. If you run away from it, it will follow you, but if you have the courage to “attack” it yourself by following it and getting close to it, it will run away from you instead. It also tilts backwards like a trained dog. Its behavior encourages the player to get close to it and play with it, making cockroaches look like friendly insects.
Programmed using Arduino.