ArmSym: A Virtual Human–Robot Interaction Laboratory for Assistive Robotics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Samuel Bustamante ◽  
Jan Peters ◽  
Bernhard Scholkopf ◽  
Moritz Grosse-Wentrup ◽  
Vinay Jayaram
Keyword(s):  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Virtual Human ◽  
Robot Interaction

Robotics for Assisting Children with Physical and Cognitive Disabilities

2015 ◽  
pp. 78-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tee Kit Tsun ◽  
Lau Bee Theng ◽  
Hudyjaya Siswoyo Jo ◽  
Patrick Then Hang Hui
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Active Movement ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Passive Stretching ◽  
Locomotion Training

This chapter summarizes the findings of a study on robotics research and application for assisting children with disabilities between the years 2009 and 2013. The said disabilities include impairment of motor skills, locomotion, and social interaction that is commonly attributed to children suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Cerebral Palsy (CP). As opposed to assistive technologies for disabilities that largely account for restoration of physical capabilities, disabled children also require dedicated rehabilitation for social interaction and mental health. As such, the breadth of this study covers existing efforts in rehabilitation of both physical and socio-psychological domains, which involve Human-Robot Interaction. Overviewed topics include assisted locomotion training, passive stretching and active movement rehabilitation, upper-extremity motor function, social interactivity, therapist-mediators, active play encouragement, as well as several life-long assistive robotics in current use. This chapter concludes by drawing attention to ethical and adoption issues that may obstruct the field's effectiveness.

scholarly journals Multiscale Entropy Quantifies the Differential Effect of the Medium Embodiment on Older Adults Prefrontal Cortex during the Story Comprehension: A Comparative Analysis

Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Keshmiri ◽  
Hidenobu Sumioka ◽  
Ryuji Yamazaki ◽  
Hiroshi Ishiguro
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Multiscale Entropy ◽  
Story Comprehension ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Age Related

Todays’ communication media virtually impact and transform every aspect of our daily communication and yet the extent of their embodiment on our brain is unexplored. The study of this topic becomes more crucial, considering the rapid advances in such fields as socially assistive robotics that envision the use of intelligent and interactive media for providing assistance through social means. In this article, we utilize the multiscale entropy (MSE) to investigate the effect of the physical embodiment on the older people’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity while listening to stories. We provide evidence that physical embodiment induces a significant increase in MSE of the older people’s PFC activity and that such a shift in the dynamics of their PFC activation significantly reflects their perceived feeling of fatigue. Our results benefit researchers in age-related cognitive function and rehabilitation who seek for the adaptation of these media in robot-assistive cognitive training of the older people. In addition, they offer a complementary information to the field of human-robot interaction via providing evidence that the use of MSE can enable the interactive learning algorithms to utilize the brain’s activation patterns as feedbacks for improving their level of interactivity, thereby forming a stepping stone for rich and usable human mental model.

scholarly journals Benchmarks for evaluating socially assistive robotics

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Feil-Seifer ◽  
Kristine Skinner ◽  
Maja J. Matarić
Keyword(s):  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Application Domain ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Socially Assistive Robotics ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Many

Socially assistive robotics (SAR) is a growing area of research. Evaluating SAR systems presents novel challenges. Using a robot for a socially assistive task can have various benefits and ethical implications. Many questions are important to understanding whether a robot is effective for a given application domain. This paper describes several benchmarks for evaluating SAR systems. There exist numerous methods for evaluating the many factors involved in a robot’s design. Benchmarks from psychology, anthropology, medicine, and human–robot interaction are proposed as measures of success in evaluating a given SAR system and its impact on the user and broader population.

scholarly journals Designing Acceptable Robots for Assisting Older Adults: A Pilot Study on the Willingness to Interact

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10686
Author(s):  
Roberta Bevilacqua ◽  
Elisa Felici ◽  
Filippo Cavallo ◽  
Giulio Amabili ◽  
Elvira Maranesi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Service Robot ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Nonverbal Behaviors ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Method Approach

The aim of this paper was to explore the psychosocial determinants that lead to acceptability and willingness to interact with a service robot, starting with an analysis of older users’ behaviors toward the Robot-Era platform, in order to provide strategies for the promotion of social assistive robotics. A mixed-method approach was used to collect information on acceptability, usability, and human–robot interaction, by analyzing nonverbal behaviors, emotional expressions, and verbal communication. The study involved 35 older adults. Twenty-two were women and thirteen were men, aged 73.8 (±6) years old. Video interaction analysis was conducted to capture the users’ gestures, statements, and expressions. A coded scheme was designed on the basis of the literature in the field. Percentages of time and frequency of the selected events are reported. The statements of the users were collected and analyzed. The results of the behavioral analysis reveal a largely positive attitude, inferred from nonverbal clues and nonverbal emotional expressions. The results highlight the need to provide robotic solutions that respect the tasks they offer to the users It is necessary to give older consumers dedicated training in technological literacy to guarantee proper, long-lasting, and successful use.

Escaping Oz: Autonomy in Socially Assistive Robotics

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlyn Clabaugh ◽  
Maja Matarić
Keyword(s):  
Design Patterns ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Wizard Of Oz ◽  
Socially Assistive Robotics ◽  
Special Needs Education ◽  
Engineering Practices ◽  
And Robotics

The field of socially assistive robotics (SAR) aims to supplement the efforts of clinicians, therapists, educators, and caregivers through individualized, socially mediated interventions with robots. SAR is faced with the interdisciplinary challenge to balance sensitive domain needs with current technical limitations. Many researchers in SAR and the broader human–robot interaction community overcome technical barriers by using a Wizard of Oz approach, or teleoperation of the robot or aspects of the interaction. Although Wizard of Oz is a well-established practice, it becomes intractable in critical SAR domains that require long-term, situated support, such as aging in place and special needs education. In this article, we define a set of autonomy-centric design properties for SAR interventions based on concepts from artificial intelligence and robotics. These properties structure a systematic review of the last decade of autonomous SAR research. From the review, we draw and discuss common computational methods, engineering practices, and design patterns that enable autonomy in SAR.

Robotics for Assisting Children with Physical and Cognitive Disabilities

2016 ◽  
pp. 953-995
Author(s):  
Mark Tee Kit Tsun ◽  
Lau Bee Theng ◽  
Hudyjaya Siswoyo Jo ◽  
Patrick Then Hang Hui
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Active Movement ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Passive Stretching ◽  
Locomotion Training

This chapter summarizes the findings of a study on robotics research and application for assisting children with disabilities between the years 2009 and 2013. The said disabilities include impairment of motor skills, locomotion, and social interaction that is commonly attributed to children suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Cerebral Palsy (CP). As opposed to assistive technologies for disabilities that largely account for restoration of physical capabilities, disabled children also require dedicated rehabilitation for social interaction and mental health. As such, the breadth of this study covers existing efforts in rehabilitation of both physical and socio-psychological domains, which involve Human-Robot Interaction. Overviewed topics include assisted locomotion training, passive stretching and active movement rehabilitation, upper-extremity motor function, social interactivity, therapist-mediators, active play encouragement, as well as several life-long assistive robotics in current use. This chapter concludes by drawing attention to ethical and adoption issues that may obstruct the field's effectiveness.

scholarly journals Are Preferences Useful for Better Assistance?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Gerard Canal ◽  
Carme Torras ◽  
Guillem Alenyà
Keyword(s):  
User Preferences ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
User Evaluation ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Robot Behavior

Assistive Robots have an inherent need of adapting to the user they are assisting. This is crucial for the correct development of the task, user safety, and comfort. However, adaptation can be performed in several manners. We believe user preferences are key to this adaptation. In this article, we evaluate the use of preferences for Physically Assistive Robotics tasks in a Human-Robot Interaction user evaluation. Three assistive tasks have been implemented consisting of assisted feeding, shoe-fitting, and jacket dressing, where the robot performs each task in a different manner based on user preferences. We assess the ability of the users to determine which execution of the task used their chosen preferences (if any). The obtained results show that most of the users were able to successfully guess the cases where their preferences were used even when they had not seen the task before. We also observe that their satisfaction with the task increases when the chosen preferences are employed. Finally, we also analyze the user’s opinions regarding assistive tasks and preferences, showing promising expectations as to the benefits of adapting the robot behavior to the user through preferences.

scholarly journals Long-Term Social Human-Robot Interaction for Neurorehabilitation: Robots as a Tool to Support Gait Therapy in the Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalia Céspedes ◽  
Denniss Raigoso ◽  
Marcela Múnera ◽  
Carlos A. Cifuentes
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Care ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Health Care Staff ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Term Evaluation ◽  
Gait Therapy

COVID-19 pandemic has affected the population worldwide, evidencing new challenges and opportunities for several kinds of emergent and existing technologies. Social Assistive Robotics could be a potential tool to support clinical care areas, promoting physical distancing, and reducing the contagion rate. In this context, this paper presents a long-term evaluation of a social robotic platform for gait neurorehabilitation. The robot's primary roles are monitoring physiological progress and promoting social interaction with human distancing during the sessions. A clinical validation with ten patients during 15 sessions were conducted in a rehabilitation center located in Colombia. Results showed that the robot's support improves the patients' physiological progress by reducing their unhealthy spinal posture time, with positive acceptance. 65% of patients described the platform as helpful and secure. Regarding the robot's role within the therapy, the health care staff agreed (>95%) that this tool can promote physical distancing and it is highly useful to support neurorehabilitation throughout the pandemic. These outcomes suggest the benefits of this tool to be further implemented in the pandemic.

scholarly journals An Automated Planning Model for HRI: Use Cases on Social Assistive Robotics

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (22) ◽  
pp. 6520
Author(s):  
Raquel Fuentetaja ◽  
Angel García-Olaya ◽  
Javier García ◽  
José Carlos González ◽  
Fernando Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Robots ◽  
Automated Planning ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Planning Model ◽  
Level Control ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
High Level

Using Automated Planning for the high level control of robotic architectures is becoming very popular thanks mainly to its capability to define the tasks to perform in a declarative way. However, classical planning tasks, even in its basic standard Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) format, are still very hard to formalize for non expert engineers when the use case to model is complex. Human Robot Interaction (HRI) is one of those complex environments. This manuscript describes the rationale followed to design a planning model able to control social autonomous robots interacting with humans. It is the result of the authors’ experience in modeling use cases for Social Assistive Robotics (SAR) in two areas related to healthcare: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) and non-contact rehabilitation therapies for patients with physical impairments. In this work a general definition of these two use cases in a unique planning domain is proposed, which favors the management and integration with the software robotic architecture, as well as the addition of new use cases. Results show that the model is able to capture all the relevant aspects of the Human-Robot interaction in those scenarios, allowing the robot to autonomously perform the tasks by using a standard planning-execution architecture.

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