4,417 research outputs found

    Service Robots and Humanitarian Demining

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    User-centered design of a dynamic-autonomy remote interaction concept for manipulation-capable robots to assist elderly people in the home

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    In this article, we describe the development of a human-robot interaction concept for service robots to assist elderly people in the home with physical tasks. Our approach is based on the insight that robots are not yet able to handle all tasks autonomously with sufficient reliability in the complex and heterogeneous environments of private homes. We therefore employ remote human operators to assist on tasks a robot cannot handle completely autonomously. Our development methodology was user-centric and iterative, with six user studies carried out at various stages involving a total of 241 participants. The concept is under implementation on the Care-O-bot 3 robotic platform. The main contributions of this article are (1) the results of a survey in form of a ranking of the demands of elderly people and informal caregivers for a range of 25 robot services, (2) the results of an ethnography investigating the suitability of emergency teleassistance and telemedical centers for incorporating robotic teleassistance, and (3) a user-validated human-robot interaction concept with three user roles and corresponding three user interfaces designed as a solution to the problem of engineering reliable service robots for home environments

    SAFER: Search and Find Emergency Rover

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    When disaster strikes and causes a structure to collapse, it poses a unique challenge to search and rescue teams as they assess the situation and search for survivors. Currently there are very few tools that can be used by these teams to aid them in gathering important information about the situation that allow members to stay at a safe distance. SAFER, Search and Find Emergency Rover, is an unmanned, remotely operated vehicle that can provide early reconnaissance to search and rescue teams so they may have more information to prepare themselves for the dangers that lay inside the wreckage. Over the past year, this team has restored a bare, non-operational chassis inherited from Roverwerx 2012 into a rugged and operational rover with increased functionality and reliability. SAFER uses a 360-degree camera to deliver real time visual reconnaissance to the operator who can remain safely stationed on the outskirts of the disaster. With strong drive motors providing enough torque to traverse steep obstacles and enough power to travel at up to 3 ft/s, SAFER can cover ground quickly and effectively over its 1-3 hour battery life, maximizing reconnaissance for the team. Additionally, SAFER contains 3 flashing beacons that can be dropped by the operator in the event a victim is found so that when team members do enter the scene they may easily locate victims. In the future, other teams may wish to improve upon this iteration by adding thermal imaging, air quality sensors, and potentially a robotic arm with a camera that can see in spaces too small for the entire rover to enter

    Development of a Portable IP-Based Remote Controlled System for Mobile Robot

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    The use of Mobile Robots to interact with objects in remote locations has proved to be useful in areas not easily accessible or too dangerous for humans. Various means have been used to remotely operate or control Mobile Robots. These range from wired connection to Wireless connection like radio frequency signal and more recently internet controlled Mobile Robot using the TCP/IP protocol stack. However, the problem of remote control dependence on the Mobile Robot Platform or configuration has made it difficult to switch controllers between Mobile Robots. In this work, a portable IPbased remote control system has been designed and implemented to remove the constraint imposed by the Mobile Robot's platform in choosing the control interface. The system developed was built on three loosely coupled components working together to ensure a high degree of Control interface portability. The Mobile Robot Gateway component was used to receive and send data from the Mobile Robo

    Build and Interface Internet Mobile Robot using Raspberry Pi and Arduino

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    In the recent years, the increasing use of wireless applications and the demand for a system that could easily connect devices for transfer of data over a long distance without cables became worldwide. This paper presents the Build and interface of a real time wheeled mobile robot installed above it an arm and a camera. Software system can be built in three various programming languages and   controlled via the internet using webpage protected with a username and password to make sure it cannot be hacked. The webpage is designed to control the mobile robot remotely through the internet by any web browser such as Mozilla Firefox. Camera is mounted on the animated base in two axes in order to have better visibility.The designed mobile robot can be remotely operated from everywhere around the world without being near the robot. It can be controlled by using any device, whether a laptop, a mobile or a tablet. It can move forward, reverse, turn right and left for a specific distance according to the controller specification. The mobile robot system is used to transfer foreign objects and access to areas that are unable to be accessed by humans. It is also used for purposes of monitoring to fit a camera. The development of this robot is based on Arduino Mega platform which will be interfaced with the microcomputer that is placed on the robot running as a server. After completing the design and testing the robot, time delay is calculated in different cases (LAN and WAN) network. Finally, this prototype of the robot is expected to solve many problems such as placing or picking objects that are far away from the user, picking and placing hazardous objects in the fastest and easiest way. Keywords: Internet Mobile Robot;Raspberry Pi ; Arduino

    The next challenge for world wide robotized tele-echography experiment (WORTEX 2012): from engineering success to healthcare delivery.

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    Access to good quality healthcare remains difficult for many patients whether they live in developed or developing countries. In developed countries, specialist medical expertise is concentrated in major hospitals in urban settings both to improve clinical outcomes and as a strategy to reduce the costs of specialist healthcare delivery. In developing countries, millions of people have limited, if any, routine access to a healthcare system and due to economic and cultural factors the accessibility of any services may be restricted. In both cases, geographical, socio-political, cultural and economic factors produce ‘medically isolated areas’ where patients find themselves disadvantaged in terms of timely diagnosis and expert and/or expensive treatment. The robotized teleechography approach, also referred to as robotized teleultrasound, offers a potential solution to diagnostic imaging in medically isolated areas. It is designed for patients requiring ultrasound scans for routine care (e.g., ante natal care) and for diagnostic imaging to investigate acute and medical emergencies conditions, including trauma care and responses to natural disasters such as earthquakes. The robotized teleechography system can hold any standard ultrasound probe; this lightweight system is positioned on the patient’s body by a healthcare assistant. The medical expert, a clinician with expertise in ultrasound imaging and diagnosis, is in a distant location and, using a dedicated joystick, remotely controls the scanning via any available communication link (Internet, satellite). The WORTEX2012 intercontinental trials of the system conducted last year successfully demonstrated the feasibility of remote robotized tele-echography in a range of cultural, technical and clinical contexts. In addition to the engineering success, these trials provided positive feedback from the participating clinicians and patients on using the system and on the system’s perceived potential to transform healthcare in medically isolated areas. The next challenge is to show evidence that this innovative technology can deliver on its promise if introduced into routine healthcare

    The Virtual Robotics Laboratory

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