“I want that”: Human-in-the-loop control of a wheelchair-mounted robotic arm

Issue title: Assistive and Rehabilitation Robotics

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Tsui, Katherine M. | Kim, Dae-Jin^; | Behal, Aman | Kontak, David | Yanco, Holly A.

Affiliations: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA | Universal Robotics, Inc., Noshville, TN, USA | University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA | Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, Greenfield, NH, USA

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Note: [] D.-J. Kim was affiliated with the University of Central Florida for the duration of this project. He is now at Universal Robotics, Inc.

Abstract: Wheelchair-mounted robotic arms have been commercially available for a decade. In order to operate these robotic arms, a user must have a high level of cognitive function. Our research focuses on replacing a manufacturer-provided, menu-based interface with a vision-based system while adding autonomy to reduce the cognitive load. Instead of manual task decomposition and execution, the user explicitly designates the end goal, and the system autonomously retrieves the object. In this paper, we present the complete system which can autonomously retrieve a desired object from a shelf. We also present the results of a 15-week study in which 12 participants from our target population used our system, totaling 198 trials.

Keywords: Human-robot interaction, visual servoing

DOI: 10.3233/ABB-2011-0004

Journal: Applied Bionics and Biomechanics, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 127-147, 2011