Design and Simulation of a ROS2-based Mobile Platform for Hospital Receptionist Robot

This paper describes the design and development of a mobile robot platform based on Robot Operating System 2 (ROS2) for hospital receptionist applications. In comparison to classical approaches where development teams jump straight to hardware development and coding, we demonstrate how adding a shared, structured CONSENS model avoids time-consuming and costly iterations by aligning design understanding early. The platform integrates LIDAR navigation, camera-based object detection using YOLOv7, and voice interaction via Google Vosk in a unified ROS2 framework using low-cost single-board computers, sensors and actuators. Application-oriented tasks are designed and simulated using open-source software, with the robot controlled via the network and displaying recorded data. Due to its systematic development methodology and freely available code, it is well suited for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) at a tertiary level.