Overcoming barriers and increasing independence: service robots for elderly and disabled people

This paper discusses the potential for service robots to overcome barriers and increase independence of elderly and disabled people. It includes a brief overview of the existing uses of service robots by disabled and elderly people and advances in technology which will make new uses possible and provides suggestions for some of these new applications. The paper also considers the design and other conditions to be met for user acceptance. It also discusses the complementarity of assistive service robots and personal assistance and considers the types of applications and users for which service robots are and are not suitable

Assistive trajectories for human-in-the-loop mobile robotic platforms

Autonomous and semi-autonomous smoothly interruptible trajectories are developed which are highly suitable for application in tele-operated mobile robots, operator on-board military mobile ground platforms, and other mobility assistance platforms. These trajectories will allow a navigational system to provide assistance to the operator in the loop, for purpose built robots or remotely operated platforms. This will allow the platform to function well beyond the line-of-sight of the operator, enabling remote operation inside a building, surveillance, or advanced observations whilst keeping the operator in a safe location. In addition, on-board operators can be assisted to navigate without collision when distracted, or under-fire, or when physically disabled by injury

Vision-based interface applied to assistive robots

This paper presents two vision-based interfaces for disabled people to command a mobile robot for personal assistance. The developed interfaces can be subdivided according to the algorithm of image processing implemented for the detection and tracking of two different body regions. The first interface detects and tracks movements of the user's head, and these movements are transformed into linear and angular velocities in order to command a mobile robot. The second interface detects and tracks movements of the user's hand, and these movements are similarly transformed. In addition, this paper also presents the control laws for the robot. The experimental results demonstrate good performance and balance between complexity and feasibility for real-time applications.Fil: Pérez Berenguer, María Elisa. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Electrónica y Automática. Gabinete de Tecnología Médica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Soria, Carlos Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Automática. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Automática; ArgentinaFil: López Celani, Natalia Martina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Electrónica y Automática. Gabinete de Tecnología Médica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Nasisi, Oscar Herminio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Automática; ArgentinaFil: Mut, Vicente Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Automática. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Automática; Argentin

Collaborative Control for a Robotic Wheelchair: Evaluation of Performance, Attention, and Workload

Powered wheelchair users often struggle to drive safely and effectively and in more critical cases can only get around when accompanied by an assistant. To address these issues, we propose a collaborative control mechanism that assists the user as and when they require help. The system uses a multiple–hypotheses method to predict the driver’s intentions and if necessary, adjusts the control signals to achieve the desired goal safely. The main emphasis of this paper is on a comprehensive evaluation, where we not only look at the system performance, but, perhaps more importantly, we characterise the user performance, in an experiment that combines eye–tracking with a secondary task. Without assistance, participants experienced multiple collisions whilst driving around the predefined route. Conversely, when they were assisted by the collaborative controller, not only did they drive more safely, but they were able to pay less attention to their driving, resulting in a reduced cognitive workload. We discuss the importance of these results and their implications for other applications of shared control, such as brain–machine interfaces, where it could be used to compensate for both the low frequency and the low resolution of the user input

A reconfigurable wheelchair for mobility and rehabilitation:Design and development

This paper presents the design and development of a prototype of a reconfigurable wheelchair for rehabilitation and self-assistance to fit the size of a seven years old child (average 35 kg weight). Though the developed prototype is developed at this stage to fit a child, it can be resized, after considering variations in weight and size, to fit an older adult. The developed prototype has a mechanism that enables the user to transform from sit-to-stand (STS) posture and vice versa. With the help of the developed wheelchair, the user will also be able to adjust the posture of his upper body using an adjustable back support using two linear actuators. This configuration will allow the user to use the wheelchair as a mobility device as well as for rehabilitation purposes without the need of external support. The availability of STS and back adjustment mechanisms will allow the user to do regular exercising which will enhance blood circulation as sitting for long periods inflates lower limbs disability. The proposed configuration will help in enhancing the functional capabilities of end-users allowing for increased independence and ultimately quality of life

A non-holonomic, highly human-in-the-loop compatible, assistive mobile robotic platform guidance navigation and control strategy

The provision of assistive mobile robotics for empowering and providing independence to the infirm, disabled and elderly in society has been the subject of much research. The issue of providing navigation and control assistance to users, enabling them to drive their powered wheelchairs effectively, can be complex and wide-ranging; some users fatigue quickly and can find that they are unable to operate the controls safely, others may have brain injury re-sulting in periodic hand tremors, quadriplegics may use a straw-like switch in their mouth to provide a digital control signal. Advances in autonomous robotics have led to the development of smart wheelchair systems which have attempted to address these issues; however the autonomous approach has, ac-cording to research, not been successful; users reporting that they want to be active drivers and not passengers. Recent methodologies have been to use collaborative or shared control which aims to predict or anticipate the need for the system to take over control when some pre-decided threshold has been met, yet these approaches still take away control from the us-er. This removal of human supervision and control by an autonomous system makes the re-sponsibility for accidents seriously problematic. This thesis introduces a new human-in-the-loop control structure with real-time assistive lev-els. One of these levels offers improved dynamic modelling and three of these levels offer unique and novel real-time solutions for: collision avoidance, localisation and waypoint iden-tification, and assistive trajectory generation. This architecture and these assistive functions always allow the user to remain fully in control of any motion of the powered wheelchair, shown in a series of experiments

Neural Network Based Diagonal Decoupling Control of Powered Wheelchair Systems

This paper proposes an advanced diagonal decou- pling control method for powered wheelchair systems. This control method is based on a combination of the systematic diagonaliza- tion technique and the neural network control design. As such, this control method reduces coupling effects on a multivariable system, leading to independent control design procedures. Using an obtained dynamic model, the problem of the plants Jacobian calculation is eliminated in a neural network control design. The effectiveness of the proposed control method is verified in a real-time implementation on a powered wheelchair system. The obtained results confirm that robustness and desired performance of the overall system are guaranteed, even under parameter uncertainty effects

INTELIGENTNY WÓZEK INWALIDZKI Z NAPĘDEM ELEKTRYCZNYM: PROBLEMY I WYZWANIA W PODEJŚCIU PRODUKTOWYM

This paper focuses on intelligent assistant for power wheelchair (PW) usage in home conditions. Especially in the context of PW intelligent assistant as a consumer product. The main problematic aspects and challenges of smart PW in real application are noted. The approach to formation of system requirements and their classification is offered. The research results proposed and implemented in the ongoing Mobilis project for smart PW. Further prospects of research and development are noted. Also, it is stated that the implementation of smart PW technology opens possibilities to effective integration with new control methods (including brain-computer interfaces).Niniejszy artykuł koncentruje się na omówieniu problemów i wyzwań dotyczących nowego produktu, jakim jest Smart Power Wheelchair (SPW), czyli inteligentny asystent używany w elektrycznych wózkach inwalidzkich w warunkach domowych. Zwrócono szczególnie uwagę na ukazanie SPW jako nowego produktu konsumenckiego na rynku dóbr. Przedstawione zostały główne problematyczne aspekty i wyzwania dla SPW, które mogą pojawić się w warunkach rzeczywistych. Artykuł zawiera również propozycje dotyczące tworzenia wymagań systemowych oraz ich klasyfikacji. W kolejnej części artykułu przedstawiono wyniki badań, zrealizowanych w ramach projektu Mobilis, dzięki którym wdrożono szereg zmian w produkcie. Ponadto autorzy zapewniają o planowanych dalszych badaniach nad rozwojem produktu. Należy zwrócić uwagę, że wprowadzenie technologii SPW otwiera możliwości efektywnej integracji z nowymi metodami komunikacji (w tym z interfejsami mózg-komputer, z ang. brain-computer interfaces – BCI), z których szczególną korzyść będą miały osoby z niepełnosprawnością ruchową