Robot supports older people with communication

Robot supports older people with communicationScientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) want to equip the helper so that it makes easy to use even complex media. The goal: even if they are housebound, older people are to maintain their social contacts and prevent isolation and can train cognitive abilities.

“Call my daughter!” Maybe the old man forgot the number or misplaced the phone; maybe he is also fallen and can not help them. ALIAS (Adaptable Ambient Living Assistant) needs to worry – it helps in any case. Because the robot sees the senior and establishes the connection to the desired contact person. Today ALIAS is a figure head, wheels, and PC. He actually domestic assistant, is it the TUM researchers will equip the next few years with software and controls – in the belief that “can help social robot” with the challenges of demographic change in Europe. “Many older people want as long as possible to remain living at home, even if they are limited in their physical or mental abilities,” says project coordinator Prof. Frank Well-off the Institute for Human-Machine Communication. “Of course they want to keep from there to contact their family, friends or facilities where they live. We want to improve their communication skills in their everyday lives and thus their autonomy. “

ALIAS will not only enable phone calls. In chats and social networks is to enhance the user can move. An e-card or to compete in an online game will be too easy. And on call ALIAS reads from the newspaper or translated from other languages. To make possible the ease of use include a speech recognition system and a touch screen with large fields – keyboard, mouse, and phones with small buttons and displays to be unnecessary. Later, a remote health monitoring could also be developed which provides users with additional security.

Presented is the development project of 15 to 17 September at the AAL Forum in Odense, Denmark. The Europe of 20 states, the EU and company launched AAL (Ambient Assisted Living) has aims to improve the quality of life of older people, while the industrial base of Europe through the use of information and communication technology. AAL supports the development of ALIAS in the next three years with € 3.87 million.

At the forum to the TUM-scientist with a questionnaire to collect proposals from both nurses and relatives of older people as well as equipment manufacturers and health insurance, what features should dominate ALIAS. Not least are the potential users even from the start will be asked for their wishes and during test development, the operation of ALIAS? Prof. Susanne Ibsen TUM Department of Gender Studies in Engineering will also support the project with ethical and gender studies.

An alias is also with the Technical University Ilmenau and Eurecom two other research institutions, the five companies Cognesys, Guger Technologies, MetraLabs, Synergisms and House, and the end-user organization involved PME family service. Thus, together specialists from four European countries for human-machine communication, dialog systems, content management, data search and navigation as well as an autonomous robot makers and sociologists. At TUM ALIAS is associated with the cluster of excellence Cognition for Technical Systems (CoTeSys). Here, research scientists Munich in how humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles and autonomous controlled factories to learn independently and communicate with humans.

Contact:

Prof. Frank Well-off (Coordinator)
Technical University of Munich
Institute for Human-Machine Communication (Prof. Gerhard Rigoll)
Tel: +49 89 289 2573 4 / 7708 3738 +49,441
E-mail: info@aal-alias.eu

Space robots are baptism of fire in space

Space robotsThe two developed at the Technical University of Vienna Space Robot Roby Space Junior I and II have passed its first test in space. The Sunday started by the Japanese Uchinoura Space Center rocket placed the two robots as planned. Their task was to get around on a strained inter-satellite network. “After what we know so far, the robot worked as planned. For further details you can say only after evaluating the data,” said project manager Peter Kopacek of Institute for Intelligent Handling and Robotics in the press-text interview. Continue reading

NANC -E , The robot nanny

the robot nannyAfter sleepless nights, days when all they do is change diapers and bottles to fill women tend to lose the trial. It was justifiable , I do not want to imagine the madness of a newborn little boy , with his Berreo , weeping, their dolorcillos in the belly that wreak havoc in the heart , soul and patience for the generous mothers. Continue reading

Artificial Intelligence which is seriously intended to match human intelligence in generality

artificial intelligence“What is General Intelligence?” is a short introductory article to the theory of “real AI”, Artificial Intelligence which is seriously intended to match human intelligence in generality. If you are reading an offline version, further material on general intelligence can be found at the Singularity Institute Continue reading

Robots working in the medical field – 16th Annual Seminar robotics

robotic surgeryKogakuin University, Seminar organized by the 16th Robotics Society of Japan , “Medical Robotics and entered a practical stage,” was held. Organizers said this Hitachi Momoi Yasuyuki. Continue reading

Medical robots explore blood vessels

medical robotsBristol – A U-boat, equipped with a camera and sensors rushes through the bloodstream. Tiny should be to penetrate even the most remote branches of the cardiovascular system. For this idea of intelligent medical robots, the bioengineers inspire the world for years. They hope so, the imaging methods in medicine a step further advance. Continue reading

Gigantor by Daniel Roganti

robot_wont_fall_down-150x150This is the second of my Bipedal robots. Pinocchio is my first and Giantor is my second. The construction for the Biped robots are based mostly on materials supplied by PLASTRUCT. Although some parts, such as the Torso and feet came elsewhere. The Torso is from a plastic toy pail I found in Toys R Us . The feet are acrylic soup bowls I found in the grocery store, they’re made by arrow Plastic in Illinois. The plastic materials allow me to customize my own design, with structural integrity , and while keeping the weight reduced. There are currently 2 prototypes which demonstrate bipedal locomotion using a gait similiar to people. I designed this using static equilibrium to simulate the walking gait of a human.

The Robot Calibrator is a measurement system

new-video-robot-calibration-with-the-faro-gage-P34339The Robot Calibrator is a measurement system that includes three string-encoders mounted to a metal base plate and used to measure the position of a robot in three space. Combining the three string ends and attaching them to a robot arm provides an inexpensive and relatively accurate position sensor with respect to the calibrator base. Using a quick-change plate attached to the three string ends, the robot can attach to the plate, maneuver the plate through a calibration routine, and replace the plate completing an in-situ calibration during manufacturing. Errors that can build during repetitive robot motions are thereby compared to the Robot Calibrator measurements and canceled out. String encoders or potentiometers can be used to provide relatively accurate length measurements with respect to their housings and combined as in the Robot Calibrator to triangulate the position of their combined lengths. Since the string-encoders allow only perpendicular string-extension/retraction, steel toriods were machined and attached to the string-encoder housings allowing the string to exit at angles within a hemisphere, as needed for a robot arm.

Here, the robot tested was a 7-axis arm that ran through a series of tests to “calibrate” the calibrator. Calibration included the simultaneous use of a laser tracker with the calibrator providing a direct calibration of three-space points for this robot.

a. Calibrator attached to the robot arm
b, d, e, f. Laser tracker (black object to the right) tracking the robot position simultaneously with the Robot Calibrator.
c. Close-up of the retro-reflector (laser tracker) and strings (Robot Calibrator) attached to the robot.
g. h. Center stand for the calibrator attachment plate with attached strings. The strings attached to the robot attachment plate such that the robot could quick-change to it and replace it on the stand.

Performance Metrics and Test Arenas for Autonomous Mobile Robots

nist_arena_2000Reproducible and widely known challenges can help evolving fields by providing reference problems with measures of performance which allow researchers to compare implementations, communicate results, and leverage each other’s work. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed the Reference Test Arenas for Autonomous Mobile Robots to focus research efforts, provide direction, and accelerate the advancement of mobile robot capabilities. Continue reading