Robotic wheelchair takes elderly customers shopping

On March 30, researchers at ATR demonstrated the latest developments in the Ubiquitous Network Robot project, this time featuring a robotic wheelchair in a shopping mall.
The concept behind the service is that elderly people with disabilities tend not to leave home by themselves because they and their families are concerned about possible accidents. The system presented in this demonstration helps allay these fears and ensure safety using the Ubiquitous Network Robot (UNR) Platform, a networked robot system which connects robots with environmental sensor networks, remote operators, planning and processing servers, and mobile devices. The system successfully enabled the customer to move freely throughout the shopping mall by herself, giving a new level of independence to someone who typically would be dependent on a caretaker to accompany her if she even went out at all. Technologically, the demonstration presented new applications of networked robot systems, demonstrating seamless integration between sensor networks, autonomous planning, manual teleoperation, and shared autonomy to ensure safety and ease-of-use of the robotic wheelchair.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• robots
• japan
• ATR
• network robot system
• shopping
• elderly care
• teleoperation

[dylanglas]

[continued]

However, until such services are available on a large scale, it would probably make the most sense to use a model like that demonstrated in our video, where specialized robotic wheelchairs can be borrowed for use in the areas where those services are available.

[dylanglas]

[continued - sorry, 500 char limit]

(c) Provide an "auto-drive" function in case the user gets tired or doesn't feel able to navigate some area safely. Path planning for this is based on map information and human tracking data from the sensor network.

You can imagine if services like this are developed on a large scale in the future, they would be most useful in the form of an "add-on module" including some sensors and control hardware that would integrate with existing motorized wheelchairs.

[dylanglas]

Well, the idea is that using the robotic wheelchair gives the following benefits:

(a) Take advantage of networked resources, e.g. map info to identify dangerous areas, networked sensors for safety, and product info to give shopping information.

(b) Connect at any time to a remote operator who can watch over them and drive the wheelchair out of dangerous situations if necessary. It gives them (and their families) extra peace of mind to know someone is accessible in case anything goes wrong.

[silvertip185]

私はこのようなことを見つけることではなくなるそうでなければ、­ユーザーにメリットを理解することはできませんいくつかの利点が­存在する可能性がありますを参照してくださいすることができます­。なぜ自分の電動車椅子を使用しないのですか？

[silvertip185]

I can see there might be some advantages, such as in finding things but otherwise I cannot understand the advantage to the user. Why not use your own powerchair?