SBIR Phase I: Agile Humanoid Healthcare Robot with Puck-Based Power Regeneration

SBIR 第一阶段：具有基于 Puck 的能量再生功能的敏捷人形医疗机器人

• 批准号: 0945429
• 负责人: William Townsend
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Barrett Technology Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2010-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0945429&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Agile; Humanoid; Healthcare

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a robotic solution to ease the growing shortage of nurses and related healthcare workers. The envisioned robot will have a small-footprint, 2-wheel balancing base; a pair of dexterous manipulator arms with hands; a prismatic-joint extendable spine allowing the arms to reach down to the floor or up to a cupboard; and sensors for low-level balancing and high-level navigation. The main innovation is the use of power regeneration in the passively-backdrivable joints and the wheels to maximize battery run times, which is a deficiency in competitive concepts. This project will enhance the scientific understanding of how to harvest regeneration power flows in the context of a high-number-degree-of-freedom robot. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will help ease a coming healthcare crisis while protecting dignity for the rapidly growing population of the elderly and infirmed. Continuing improvements in life-prolonging medical science show every indication of accelerating and will balloon the percentage of elderly in the general population. Even with the present recession, there is already a labor shortage of both nurses and physicians, and the shortage is projected to grow worse over the foreseeable future. While this problem is only beginning to stress the system, it is important to develop the necessary technology now, before the problem becomes overwhelming.

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目提出了一个机器人解决方案，以缓解护士和相关医疗工作者日益短缺的问题。设想中的机器人将有一个占地面积小的两轮平衡基座；一双有手的灵巧操纵臂；一个棱柱关节可伸展的脊柱，使手臂可以伸到地板上或橱柜上；以及用于低层平衡和高层导航的传感器。主要的创新是在被动后驱接头和车轮上使用动力再生，以最大限度地延长电池运行时间，这是竞争概念的不足之处。该项目将加强对如何在高自由度机器人的背景下获取再生能量流的科学理解。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力将有助于缓解即将到来的医疗危机，同时保护快速增长的老年人和体弱者的尊严。延长生命的医学科学的不断进步显示出加速发展的种种迹象，并将使老年人在总人口中的比例急剧上升。即使在目前的经济衰退中，护士和医生都已经出现了劳动力短缺，而且预计在可预见的未来，这种短缺将变得更加严重。虽然这个问题才刚刚开始给系统带来压力，但重要的是现在就开发必要的技术，以免问题变得势不可挡。