Our Mission We chose to improve the quality of life of the elderly by building a Minglebot that would cause elders who did not already know each other to make new friends, decreasing the incidence of loneliness in nursing homes. We knew that this was a problem from the following journal article: "Loneliness and Depression in Independent Living Retirement Communities:    Risk and Resilience Factors."  Adams, Sanders, & Auth.    Aging & Mental Health 2004 Nov; 8(6):475-85.
In the area of hardware engineering, we now knew that the robot would probably be in a stationary, sheltered position, and could run off AC power from a wall socket.
In the area of software engineering, we knew that the interface had to be comprehensible and intuitive to an elderly person with limited experience with computer technology.
We socially engineered ourselves some interviews to find out more.
To begin building your Minglebot, start by choosing a target group for it to mingle with. Then, begin finding out as much as you can about them before you build anything physical. Social engineering must come first.