NRI: Collaborative Research: Quadrupedal Human-Assistive Robotic Platform (Q-HARP)

 描述（由申请人提供）： 拟议项目旨在开发一种新型的四足人类辅助机器人平台（Q-HARP），目的是帮助大量老年人过上健康，积极的生活方式。Q-HARP主要用作智能助力步行者：位于腿式机器人中心的用户可以根据他/她的意图在步行中享受所需的助力量。因此，Q-HARP用户能够进行适量的身体活动，同时在他/她的日常生活中享受增强的移动性水平。此外，通过Q-HARP的腿部运动，人-机器人系统可以轻松地克服日常生活中的大多数障碍。有了这种能力，Q-HARP有可能成为就地养老的基本组成部分，使老年人能够在家中呆得更久，而无需对现有的房屋结构进行昂贵的改造。为了开发这种创新机器人，研究人员将在项目的各个方面进行研究。该项目的具体目标是：AIM 1）了解用户需求，促进用户参与研究过程; AIM 2）为人类辅助四足机器人创建系统的设计框架，并构建机器人原型进行实验测试; AIM 3）开发基于3D计算机视觉的运动和环境检测方法;目的4）研究人类在辅助行走和应急响应中的辅助策略;目的5）开发一种智能机器人控制系统，用于交互式运动辅助;目的6）进行实验以测试机器人在人类辅助任务中的性能。这个项目对社会的潜在贝内是巨大的。到2030年，将有7100万老年人生活在南方，占总人口的20%。为了老年人的健康和福祉， 影响因素是身体活动。然而，大量老年人由于行动障碍而难以保持身体活动。通过在协调运动中提供所需的身体辅助，Q-HARP预计将恢复老年人的活动能力，保持他/她的身体活跃，并享受更健康的生活，减少对护理人员帮助的依赖。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project aims at developing a novel quadrupedal human-assistive robotic platform (Q-HARP}, with the objective of helping the large number of elderly individuals live a healthy, physically active life style. The Q-HARP primarily functions as a smart power-assist walker: a user, situated in the center of the legged robot, can enjoy the desired amount of power assist in walking according to his/her intent. As such, a Q-HARP user is able to perform an appropriate amount of physical activity, while enjoying the enhanced level of mobility during his/her daily lif. Furthermore, with the Q-HARP's legged motion, the human-robot system can easily overcome most obstacles in the daily life. With this capability, the Q-HARP has a potential of becoming a basic building block for Aging-in-Place, enabling elderly individuals to stay in their home longer without conducting costly modification to their existing home structures. To develop this innovative robot, the investigators will conduct research in various aspects of the project. The specific aims of the project are: AIM 1) Understand user needs and promote user involvement in the research process; AIM 2) Create a systematic design framework for the human-assistive quadrupedal robot, and build robot prototypes for experimental testing; AIM 3) Develop a 3D computer vision-based approach for motion and environment detection; AIM 4) Study the human assistive strategies in assistive walking and emergency response; AIM 5) Develop an intelligent robot control system for interactive assistance in locomotion; AIM 6) Conduct experiments to test the robot performance in human assistance tasks. The project's potential bene*fits to society are substantial. By 2030, there will be 71 million older adults living in the S, accounting for 20°/o of the entire population. For the health and well ness of older adults, a key contributing factor is to be physically active. However, a large number of older adults have significant difficulty in staying physically active due to mobility impairment. By providing desire physical assistance in the coordinated locomotion, the Q-HARP is anticipated to restore an elderly person's mobility, keep him/her physically active, and enjoy a more healthy life with reduced reliance on the assistance of caregivers.