Start Date
19-5-2023 2:00 PM
End Date
19-5-2023 2:20 PM
Document Type
Full Paper
Keywords
Assistive Robotics, Non‐Urgent Tasks, Robotic Design
Description
Humans overcome minor household inconveniences daily without fully recognizing how challenging these tasks could be for individuals such as elderly people or people with disabilities. Those people often times struggle to complete tasks, for instance opening a door or reaching for an item, leading them to rely on caregivers for help. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this caregiver support becomes an unsafe and unreliable solution that can result in a greater risk, thus the need for another solution arises: robotic technology. Recent developments in the robotics field have paved the way for this research, aiming to design a home assistance robot with capabilities to complete the basic household tasks. The designed robotic platform features four mecanum wheels that support a platform base, a lift mechanism, and a robotic arm. The omni-directional movement of the wheels is controlled by four DC motors, which allow the robotic platform to navigate to its commanded location. Further, the lift mechanism is controlled by a stepper motor vertically to adjust the robotic arm based on the requested height. The six-link robotic arm is used for manipulation tasks. The designed robot has a central computer that utilizes MATLAB and Simulink for the developed algorithms. The designed robotic platform’s capabilities can include autonomous navigation, object fetching, as well as face detection to interact with users. With these capabilities, the robot can aid elderly and disabled individuals in need of home assistance. Ultimately, this unique platform can drastically improve conditions for those who cannot independently perform household tasks. These activities are part of a larger effort to establish custom robotic platforms for helping people with non‐urgent tasks in household environments.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5038/FVOT1875
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Included in
Assistive Robotic Platform for Non‐Urgent Household Tasks: A New Design
Humans overcome minor household inconveniences daily without fully recognizing how challenging these tasks could be for individuals such as elderly people or people with disabilities. Those people often times struggle to complete tasks, for instance opening a door or reaching for an item, leading them to rely on caregivers for help. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this caregiver support becomes an unsafe and unreliable solution that can result in a greater risk, thus the need for another solution arises: robotic technology. Recent developments in the robotics field have paved the way for this research, aiming to design a home assistance robot with capabilities to complete the basic household tasks. The designed robotic platform features four mecanum wheels that support a platform base, a lift mechanism, and a robotic arm. The omni-directional movement of the wheels is controlled by four DC motors, which allow the robotic platform to navigate to its commanded location. Further, the lift mechanism is controlled by a stepper motor vertically to adjust the robotic arm based on the requested height. The six-link robotic arm is used for manipulation tasks. The designed robot has a central computer that utilizes MATLAB and Simulink for the developed algorithms. The designed robotic platform’s capabilities can include autonomous navigation, object fetching, as well as face detection to interact with users. With these capabilities, the robot can aid elderly and disabled individuals in need of home assistance. Ultimately, this unique platform can drastically improve conditions for those who cannot independently perform household tasks. These activities are part of a larger effort to establish custom robotic platforms for helping people with non‐urgent tasks in household environments.