Merry Porter is a small mobile robot, able to safely move along corridors and within rooms, to use elevators, capable of autonomous guidance without human supervision, in the same building areas where normal people act. Merry Porter's primary aim is to deliver objects: it has a payload of about 100 Kg and a shape able to interface with various kinds of containers. Moreover, Merry Porter can carry various sensors, e.g., for video surveillance, and is able to patrol areas of known layout even while performing delivery tasks. Merry Porter is based on a distributed intelligence framework: besides the on-board processor(s), it interfaces with domotic and building automation devices that are encountered during missions, and it is able to manage lights, doors, elevators, additional sensors, communication or diagnostic points.

Merry Porter is primarily intended for indoor applications; however, it has good water-proof characteristics so that its missions can include outdoor paths with limited environmental protections.

Thanks to its sensors and on board intelligence, the robot is able to detect and recognize features in the environment, surrounding people, obstacles, and domotic devices. This way, Merry Porter is always aware of its own location, precisely enough to navigate and pass through narrow passages, such as normal doors. At the same time, an absolutely collision-free behaviour is carried out.

Merry Porter is based on the principle of not requiring a stable connection with a supervisor station. The robot can manage itself for unlimited paths in total autonomy, thanks to its ability of self-localization by sensing walls and obstacles. When the robot gets in touch with domotic devices, communicating through laser- and zigbee-based interfaces, it is able to increase the accuracy of self-localization, activate appliances and environment servos, and exchange information with the supervisor. Finally, when Merry Porter enters an area covered by a wi-fi network, it becomes fully connected to the supervisor machine. In this case, full robot control can be gained by a remote station, e.g., for inspection (tele-operated) tasks, re-programming, maintenance, or simply to use Merry Porter as a moving video surveillance device.

Merry Porter can be used in every scenario in which objects or goods have to be delivered in cluttered environments: in hospitals, commercial and directional buildings, in complex organisations, in community houses, hotels and so on. Its key point is to adapt to existing buildings, without the need to enlarge door and corridors, or to reserve special areas; it can manoeuvre even in very small and cluttered spaces, like standard elevators.

An additional, easy to expand, characteristic is surveillance. The standard equipment includes video cameras, on-board recording set, and remote surveillance through a wireless connection. A rich set of additional sensors – including PIR, RFID, smoke detectors, temperature sensors and so on – can be added, in order to use Merry Porter as a mobile, autonomous surveillance robot.