# HARP, an assistive humanoid robot > A humanoid robot built around a Raspberry Pi 5 that navigates a mapped building, tracks faces and holds a conversation with an onboard language model. Page: https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/work/harp/ Published by: WhiteHat Design Studio Last updated: 7 November 2026 Case study, assistive robotics A humanoid robot that finds its own way through a building, turns to face the person in front of it and holds a conversation on its own onboard computer. A hardware, C AI ![HARP, a white and dark blue humanoid robot with a screen for a face and a second screen on its body, standing on a tiled floor. The AUTOVENDI II delivery robot and a roll-up banner stand behind it.](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/_astro/harp-front.DcjFrvNH_ZNkH8F.jpg) HARP in the studio, full height, with Auto Vendi II behind it. ## What is HARP? HARP is an assistive humanoid robot designed and built by WhiteHat Design Studio. It is a platform for reception, guidance and research into how people and robots work together. It is modular, built to be set up for different settings. It joins two inputs. A is the robot itself: the base, the head, the screens and the computing on board, built around a Raspberry Pi 5. C is what lets it behave like a host rather than a kiosk: navigation on a predefined map, a camera that finds the person in front of it, and a language model that answers without leaving the robot. - **Type:** Case study - **Built by:** WhiteHat Design Studio - **Sector:** Assistive robotics - **Inputs:** A hardware, C AI - **Built with:** Raspberry Pi 5, visual odometry and SLAM, onboard language model, face tracking, gamepad remote control - **Does:** Navigates a mapped building, tracks faces and holds a conversation with an onboard language model, built around a Raspberry Pi 5. ## How HARP works. ### Find its way HARP drives itself on a predefined map, using visual odometry and SLAM. A gamepad takes over when an operator needs it. ### Face the person A camera in the head finds faces, and the head turns to follow the person in front of it. ### Hold a conversation An onboard language model answers in real time, on the robot itself. ### Show it Two screens, an expressive face and a display on the body, show people what the robot is doing. ![HARP in a lab with its face and body screens lit, as people stand near it.](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/_astro/harp-demo.m6NOcbOM_1iXpag.jpg) The assembled robot in a lab demonstration. ![HARP's head on a bench beside a laptop that shows the camera view used for face tracking.](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/_astro/harp-face-tracking.DaZu4jSG_ZM3Nr3.jpg) The head and its camera during face tracking development. ![HARP's mobile base, a black frame carrying a laptop, on a tiled floor, with a gamepad held in the foreground.](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/_astro/harp-mobility.CSidwr2g_Z1zsSmz.jpg) The mobile base under gamepad control. ## On film. Clips from the log. They have no sound, and each one says what happens. [HARP, meeting people in the lab. Video without sound, 30 seconds.](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/media/clips/harp-interaction.mp4) 0:30, no soundThe assembled HARP stands in a lab with its face and body screens lit. People come up to it and stand beside it while it is filmed from several sides. [HARP, face tracking on the bench. Video without sound, 10 seconds.](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/media/clips/harp-face-tracking.mp4) 0:10, no soundHARP's head sits on a bench next to a laptop. The laptop shows the head camera's view of a person's face, with the tracking output beside it, while the face moves in front of the camera. [HARP, driving the base by gamepad. Video without sound, 30 seconds.](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/media/clips/harp-mobility.mp4) 0:30, no soundHARP's mobile base, a black frame carrying a laptop, is driven across a tiled floor by someone holding a gamepad in the foreground. ## Questions about HARP ### What is HARP? HARP is an assistive humanoid robot designed and built by WhiteHat Design Studio, for reception, guidance and research into how people and robots work together. ### What computer does HARP use? HARP is built around a Raspberry Pi 5, and its language model runs on the robot itself. ### Can HARP find its own way around a building? Yes. It drives itself on a predefined map, using visual odometry and SLAM, and a gamepad takes over when an operator needs it. ## What we do not claim - No measured result is published yet. Navigation accuracy, response time and running time will appear here once measured, with their conditions. ## Sources - [WhiteHat Design Studio, project page, 2026](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/project_details.html) - [TechXpert engineering portfolio, HARP](https://www.techxpert.io/portfolio) Published 5 November 2026, updated 7 November 2026. ## Read further - [Hardware: robotics and embedded systems design](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/services/hardware/) - [AI: computer vision and edge AI](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/services/ai/) - [Edge AI or cloud AI: where should your model run?](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/guides/edge-ai-vs-cloud-ai/) - [Visual SLAM vs LiDAR SLAM for indoor robots](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/guides/visual-slam-vs-lidar-slam/) - [Why a vision model that works in the lab fails in the field](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/guides/vision-model-lab-to-field/) ## Tell us what has to work. One sentence is enough. An engineer will reply. [Talk to an engineer](https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/contact/) [WhatsApp an engineer](https://wa.me/923112721007?text=Hello%20WhiteHat%20Design%20Studio%2C%20I%20would%20like%20to%20talk%20to%20an%20engineer%20about%20my%20project.)