Human-Robot Interaction using VAHR: Virtual Assistant, Human, and Robots in the Loop

Robots have become ubiquitous tools in various industries and households, highlighting the importance of human-robot interaction (HRI). This has increased the need for easy and accessible communication between humans and robots. Recent research has focused on the intersection of virtual assistant technology, such as Amazon's Alexa, with robots and its effect on HRI. This paper presents the Virtual Assistant, Human, and Robots in the loop (VAHR) system, which utilizes bidirectional communication to control multiple robots through Alexa. VAHR's performance was evaluated through a human-subjects experiment, comparing objective and subjective metrics of traditional keyboard and mouse interfaces to VAHR. The results showed that VAHR required 41% less Robot Attention Demand and ensured 91% more Fan-out time compared to the standard method. Additionally, VAHR led to a 62.5% improvement in multi-tasking, highlighting the potential for efficient human-robot interaction in physically- and mentally-demanding scenarios. However, subjective metrics revealed a need for human operators to build confidence and trust with this new method of operation.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Directing and orienting ICT healthcare solutions to address the needs of the aging population

Background: With an aging population, it is essential to maintain good health and autonomy for as long as possible. Instead of hospitalisation or institutionalisation, older people with chronic conditions can be assisted in their own home with numerous “smart” devices that support them in their activities of daily living, manage their medical conditions, and prevent fall incidents. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions facilitate the monitoring and management of older people’s health to improve quality of life and physical activity with a decline in caregivers’ burden. Method: The aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic literature review to analyse the state of the art of ICT solutions for older people with chronic conditions, and the impact of these solutions on their quality of life from a biomedical perspective. Results: By analysing the literature on the available ICT proposals, it is shown that different approaches have been deployed by noticing that the more cross-interventions are merged then the better the results are, but there is still no evidence of the effects of ICT solutions on older people’s health outcomes. Furthermore, there are still unresolved ethical and legal issues. Conclusion: While there has been much research and development in healthcare ICT solutions for the aging population, ICT solutions still need significant development in order to be user-oriented, affordable, and to manage chronic conditions in the aging wider population

Dynamic Optimized Bandwidth Management for Teleoperation of Collaborative Robots

A real-time dynamic and optimized bandwidth management algorithm is proposed and used in teleoperated collaborative swarms of robots. This method is effective in complex teleoperation tasks, where several robots rather than one are utilized and where an extensive amount of exchanged information between operators and robots is inevitable. The importance of the proposed algorithm is that it accounts for Interesting Events (IEs) occurring in the system\u27s environment and for the change in the Quality of Collaboration (QoC) of the swarm of robots in order to allocate communication bandwidth in an optimized manner. A general dynamic optimized bandwidth management system for teleoperation of collaborative robots is formulated in this paper. The suggested algorithm is evaluated against two static algorithms applied to a swarm of two humanoid robots. The results demonstrate the advantages of dynamic optimization algorithm in terms of task and network performance. The developed algorithm outperforms two static bandwidth management algorithms, against which it was tested, for all performance parameters in 80% of the performed trials. Accordingly, it was demonstrated that the proposed dynamic bandwidth optimization and allocation algorithm forms the basis of a framework for algorithms applied to real-time highly complex systems

The impact of digital technology on health of populations affected by humanitarian crises: Recent innovations and current gaps

Digital technology is increasingly used in humanitarian action and promises to improve the health and social well-being of populations affected by both acute and protracted crises. We set out to (1) review the current landscape of digital technologies used by humanitarian actors and affected populations, (2) examine their impact on health and well-being of affected populations, and (3) consider the opportunities for and challenges faced by users of these technologies. Through a systematic search of academic databases and reports, we identified 50 digital technologies used by humanitarian actors, and/or populations affected by crises. We organized them according to the stage of the humanitarian cycle that they were used in, and the health outcomes or determinants of health they affected. Digital technologies were found to facilitate communication, coordination, and collection and analysis of data, enabling timely responses in humanitarian contexts. A lack of evaluation of these technologies, a paternalistic approach to their development, and issues of privacy and equity constituted major challenges. We highlight the need to create a space for dialogue between technology designers and populations affected by humanitarian crises

Internet based robots: Applications, impacts, challenges and future directions

The Internet has ushered in the era of an exceedingly connected digital lifestyle. It has brought about a lot of changes in the social arena and has revolutionized the way we communicate with each other. Internet based teleoperation systems utilize the ubiquitous connectivity and low cost bandwidth offered by the Internet to send commands and receive supermedia feedback for teleoperating remote systems. Teleoperation systems have many myriad applications and impact areas ranging from education and entertainment to remote exploration and medicine. Such wide ranging applications of Internet based teleoperation systems will have many social implications and a profound impact on the day-to-day human lifestyle. This paper tries to elaborate on the many application areas of Internet based teleoperation and further discusses the social implications of the same. Further the paper discusses various technical challenges and research issues related to Internet based teleoperation systems and provides a few experimental results on some teleoperation systems implemented at the Robotics and Automation Laboratory at Michigan State University and the Communication and Robotics Laboratory at Oakland University. © 2005 IEEE.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

In situ Measurement of Oil Slick Thickness in Open Water Environments

During an oil spill response, one of the parameters impacting the choice and management of the applied cleaning technique is the thickness of the floating oil. Studies have shown that technologies to accurately measure oil thickness in real-time under open water operational conditions are not commercially available. Aiming to enhance the efficiency of the currently used cleanup processes, we present the development of a capacitive-based measurement device that can measure the thickness of various types of floating oil. The presented device measures the capacitance of the oil/water/air that it contacts and uses this data to estimate the locations of the oil-air and oil-water interfaces. Determining the interfaces location provides the data necessary to calculate the thickness of the oil layer. This sensor can operate in open water environments while being dragged through waves, and does not require any calibration against different types of oil or water. In addition, the device is equipped with specialized software- and hardware-based mechanisms to mitigate the fouling problem caused by highly-viscous oils. The sensor is designed to be vertically mounted to a skimmer, boom, or floating buoy and provide thickness readings (up to 50 cm) remotely, A second configuration allows a user to measure readings directly from a handheld unit (up to 10 cm). To assess the performance of the sensor, extensive testing of the initial prototype was performed at Ohmsett facility. The experimental results demonstrated high sensor accuracy in most of the test cases. Based on the testing results, several improvements were identified and are currently being implemented to enhance the performance of the sensor while working under harsh dynamic-liquid conditions

Thickness measurement device and methods of use

Provided herein are systems, methods and apparatuses for a thickness measurement device based on a capacitive array

Design Optimization of a Multiphase Coplanar Capacitive Sensor

Detecting oil under the ice in arctic regions with current remote sensing techniques is challenging due to several factors, such as the attenuation of radio-frequency electromagnetic waves and the unknown properties of oil that vary depending on its type and the environmental conditions. To address this problem, we propose a planar capacitive sensor that works in the quasi-electrostatic domain to detect and characterize oil under ice based on its dielectric properties. This paper focuses on the design optimization process that was conducted with the aim of improving the sensitivity and penetration depth of our proposed sensor. Our design optimization process studies different geometrical and electrical parameters and compares the sensor performance obtained from using grounded (passive) backplanes and driven (active) guards. It includes a set of simulations performed using ANSYS electrostatic simulation software and a set of experiments performed under indoor laboratory conditions. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the optimized sensor design, which is based on a pair of trapezoidal electrodes that are implemented on separate PCBs and surrounded by driven guards. Another major novelty of our proposed sensor design is based on measuring the mutual capacitance between the two sensor plates after changing the horizontal distance between them using a dynamic mounting setup. This allows us to take a number of capacitance measurements at different penetration depths of the electric field before using them to detect the presence of oil and estimate its thickness. Further tests in real-world scenarios are planned for future work