Robonaut Mobile Autonomy: Initial Experiments

A mobile version of the NASA/DARPA Robonaut humanoid recently completed initial autonomy trials working directly with humans in cluttered environments. This compact robot combines the upper body of the Robonaut system with a Segway Robotic Mobility Platform yielding a dexterous, maneuverable humanoid ideal for interacting with human co-workers in a range of environments. This system uses stereovision to locate human teammates and tools and a navigation system that uses laser range and vision data to follow humans while avoiding obstacles. Tactile sensors provide information to grasping algorithms for efficient tool exchanges. The autonomous architecture utilizes these pre-programmed skills to form complex behaviors. The initial behavior demonstrates a robust capability to assist a human by acquiring a tool from a remotely located individual and then following the human in a cluttered environment with the tool for future use

Robonaut 2 and Watson: Cognitive Dexterity for Future Exploration

Future exploration missions will dictate a level of autonomy never before experienced in human spaceflight. Mission plans involving the uncrewed phases of complex human spacecraft in deep space will require a coordinated autonomous capability to be able to maintain the spacecraft when ground control is not available. One promising direction involves embedding intelligence into the system design both through the employment of state-of-the-art system engineering principles as well as through the creation of a cognitive network between a smart spacecraft or habitat and embodiments of cognitive agents. The work described here details efforts to integrate IBM's Watson and other cognitive computing services into NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC)'s Robonaut 2 (R2) anthropomorphic robot. This paper also discusses future directions this work will take. A cognitive spacecraft management system that is able to seamlessly collect data from subsystems, determine corrective actions, and provide commands to enable those actions is the end goal. These commands could be to embedded spacecraft systems or to a set of robotic assets that are tied into the cognitive system. An exciting collaboration with Woodside provides a promising Earth-bound testing analog, as controlling and maintaining not normally manned off-shore platforms have similar constraints to the space missions described

A MOBILE AUTONOMOUS HUMANOID ASSISTANT

A mobile autonomous humanoid robot is assisting human co-workers at the Johnson Space Center with tool handling tasks. This robot combines the upper body of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robonaut system with a Segway ™ Robotic Mobility Platform yielding a dexterous, maneuverable humanoid perfect for aiding human co-workers in a range of environments. This system uses stereo vision to locate human teammates and tools and a navigation system that uses laser range and vision data to follow humans while avoiding obstacles. Tactile sensors provide information to grasping algorithms for efficient tool exchanges. The autonomous architecture utilizes these pre-programmed skills to form human assistant behaviors. The initial behavior demonstrates a robust capability to assist a human by acquiring a tool from a remotely located individual and then following the human in a cluttered environment with the tool for future use

Relationship between quality of care and satisfaction level of parents of children with autism 3-18 years old enrolled at the DLSUMC neurodevelopmental center in 2014

The study conducted was an analytical, cross-sectional, hospital-based research. The study population included the parents of children with autism who were enrolled in the Neurodevelopmental Center of De La Salle University Medical Center. Respondents were selected using stratified random sampling. The data collection tool for the study was a self-administered questionnaire and data was analysed using prevalence ratio. Among 52 parents of children with autism, 47 respondents (90.4%) perceived that good quality of care was rendered to their children and had high satisfaction level; 1 respondent (1.92%) perceived that good quality of care was rendered to their children and had low satisfaction level; 2 respondents (3.85%) perceived that poor/inadequate quality of care was rendered to their children and had high satisfaction level; and 2 respondents (3.85%) perceived that poor/inadequate quality of care was rendered to their children and had low satisfaction level. The prevalence of high levels of satisfaction among parents whose children with autism received good quality of care was 0.979; and the prevalence of high levels of satisfaction among parents whose children with autism received poor/inadequate quality of care was 0.5. A prevalence ratio of 1.96 signifies that good quality of care rendered to children with autism at DLSUMC Neurodevelopmental Center in 2014 was positively correlated with high satisfaction level of parents of children with autism