IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2013 - 30
Robots for
Humanity
Using Assistive Robotics to
Empower People with Disabilities
By Tiffany L. Chen, Matei Ciocarlie, Steve Cousins,
Phillip M. Grice, Kelsey Hawkins, Kaijen Hsiao,
Charles C. Kemp, Chih-Hung King,
Daniel A. Lazewatsky, Adam E. Leeper,
Hai Nguyen, Andreas Paepcke, Caroline Pantofaru,
William D. Smart, and Leila Takayama
© ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/MIKE KIEV
A
ssistive mobile manipulators (AMMs) have the
potential to one day serve as surrogates and
helpers for people with disabilities, giving them
the freedom to perform tasks such as scratching an itch, picking up a cup, or socializing
with their families.
Project on Assistive Robotics
"I was lying in bed, watching TV as usual, when I saw a
technology special on a mobile robot. I immediately
imagined controlling it as a surrogate for my own body,"
recounts Henry Evans as he describes how our project
on assistive robotics first started. As a result of a brainstem stroke, Henry is mute and quadriplegic. After
extensive therapy, he regained the ability to move
his head and use a finger, enabling him to use a
computer. When, in October 2010, Henry saw a TV
interview of Georgia Tech Prof. Charlie Kemp demonstrating research with the Willow Garage PR2 robot, he
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2012.2229950
Date of publication: 8 March 2013
30
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IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2013
immediately saw the opportunity for people with severe
motor impairments to use mobile manipulators as assistive devices. Henry was motivated by the possibility of
using a robot as a surrogate for his paralyzed body, and
he believes thousands of others with severe motor
impairments could benefit as well.
Shortly after learning about the PR2, Henry contacted our
research team, kicking off the project that he has dubbed
"Robots for Humanity." The goal of this multidisciplinary
project is to empower people with severe motor impairments
to interact with the physical and social world, thereby
enhancing their quality of life through the use of an AMM.
Over the past year, we have been engaged in a participatory design process with Henry and his wife and primary
caregiver, Jane Evans. The research team, Henry, and Jane
have gathered four times (in March, June, and October 2011
and February 2012) for multiday research workshops to
design, develop, user test, and iteratively improve upon
robotic software and hardware tools. In this article, we introduce our project and give a first project report describing our
approach, the results we have achieved so far, and lessons we
have learned.
1070-9932/13/$31.00©2013IEEE
http://www.ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/MIKE
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2013
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2013 - Cover1
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