SBIR Phase II: Personal Service Robotics with Tiered Human-in-the-Loop Assistance

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将创建实现实用个人服务机器人所需的技术组件，操作界面和集成。 个人服务挑战机器人在非结构化，混乱和不断变化的环境中，并需要执行复杂的任务。我们的新方法允许自主算法根据需要请求人类帮助。 在多个层级中，辅助的范围可以从简单地识别部分被遮挡的物体，到选择适当的抓取配置，甚至通过直接遥控操作来解开楔入的物体;然而，持续的操作员参与应该很少发生。 这种方法使不完美的自主完成全部任务，同时最大限度地减少体力劳动的需要相比，经典的遥操作。第一阶段的工作确定了这种综合办法的可行性，同时展示了典型家务的执行情况。第二阶段的发展将侧重于减少人力工作量。主要的创新将从三个方面产生：（a）为不同的援助需求创建和优化不同的操作员界面，（B）改进自主性以减少对援助的需求，以及（c）将应用程序和支持算法缩小到相关和期望的服务任务。 这些发展将允许单个操作员并行支持多个机器人，其倍增效应放大了人工劳动力的节省。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力解决了美国，像许多工业化国家一样，日本的人口结构正在向老龄化转变。 这意味着劳动力的减少以及劳动力需求的增加，以支持老年人社区，这将需要更多的帮助，随着他们的年龄的日常生活任务。 机器人技术通常被认为是一种解决有限劳动力供应的方法。 该公司专门针对个人服务机器人，通过家庭护理提供者或辅助生活设施为老年人提供支持。 通过减少操作员的工作量并允许单个操作员协助多个机器人执行个人服务任务，这种研发工作可以提高服务劳动的生产率，并提供比传统更高质量的个人服务。 这种机器人方法也可以更容易地在物理距离上分配劳动力。 这将使老年人在熟悉的住房中变老，保持更大的独立性，并减少他们在家中或辅助生活设施中的开支。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase-II project will create the technological components, operator interfaces, and integration necessary to achieve practical Personal Service Robots. Personal service challenges robots with unstructured, cluttered, and ever-changing environments, and requires execution of complex tasks. Our novel approach allows autonomous algorithms to request human assistance as needed. Across multiple tiers, assistance can range from simply identifying a partially occluded object, to selecting an appropriate grasp configuration, or even to unsticking a wedged object by direct teleoperation; however, sustained operator involvement should only occur infrequently. This approach enables imperfect autonomy to complete full tasks while minimizing manual labor needs as compared to classical teleoperation. Efforts during Phase I established the feasibility of this combined approach while demonstrating the execution of typical household tasks. Developments under Phase II will focus on reducing the human workload. Major innovations will occur from three elements: (a) creating and optimizing distinct operator interfaces for different assistance needs, (b) refining autonomy to reduce the need for assistance, and (c) narrowing applications and support algorithms to relevant and desired service tasks. These developments will allow individual operators to support multiple robots in parallel, with the multiplicative effect amplifying manual labor savings.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project addresses the fact that the U.S., like many industrialized nations, is seeing its demographics shift to an older population. This implies a shrinking workforce as well as rising labor needs to support the older adult community, which will require greater assistance with tasks of daily living as they age. Robotics is often considered a solution to stretch a limited labor supply. The company specifically target personal service robotics to support older adults via either home care providers or assisted living facilities. By reducing operator workload and allowing a single operator to assist multiple robots performing personal service tasks, this R&D effort can increase the productivity of service labor and provide a higher quality of personal service than traditionally possible. This robotic approach can also more easily distribute the labor across physical distances. This will allow older adults to age in familiar housing, retain greater independence, and reduce their expenses at home or in assisted living facilities.