Hasta La Gadget!

Researchers at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories recently demonstrated their latest developments in the Ubiquitous Network Robot (UNR) project, a robotic wheelchair.

Incorporating a number of innovative platforms including GPS, unbiquitous sensor networks and mobile devices, the specially designed robot wheelchair was able to automatically meet an elderly shopper at a mall entrance and take her shopping. The shopper used a smartphone to reserve the wheelchair which then logged her details and used GPS coordinates to meet the shopper without any assistance as she arrived, and could then be controlled by a Wii controller.

The robotic wheelchair is fitted with a number of safety features aimed to put the user’s mind at ease while maneuvering about a busy mall. On-board laser rangefinders are used to prevent collisions with other shoppers and obstacles such as walls and benches, and can plot the best route through the busy areas automatically. It can also take over driving through the mall when the user gets tired or when it is particularly busy. A really interesting feature is the ability for the robot to remember favorite or regular products the user buys then recommend and navigate to them automatically. There is also a remote operator on hand to aid in times when lasers can’t detect obstacles in certain “dangerous areas”. Using a combination of a 3D graphical interface incorporating rich map data, human position data, and video from an omnidirectional camera the operator can safely drive the customer through or around the dangerous area.

With a swelling aging population in Japan the focus on technology aimed at providing this kind of service is intensifying. Allowing elderly or disabled users a level of independence by enabling them to safely visit malls and other areas without the use of a caretaker provides a valuable service. We could see this also eventually linking up with home appliances, such as a shopper’s refrigerator which records particular products the customer has or doesn’t have, to create an automatic shopping list and be able to guide them around the supermarket or mall to the relevant spaces.

Via Dylan Glas at IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Networked Robots

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