Human-robot gait coordination and interaction

人机步态协调与交互

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05221
• 负责人: Wu, Amy
• 金额: $ 1.97万
• 依托单位: Queen's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=759879
• 关键词: Human; robot; gait; coordination; interaction

Robotic automation plays an important role in our lives, especially in behind-the-scenes activities like improving productivity and workplace safety in warehouses and factories. However, they have been slow to provide similar benefits in personal or domestic applications. One limiting factor is the difficulty in building machines that can navigate the same environments humans inhabit. Bipedal walking offers remarkable potential for implementing such personal robot companions. However, current walking robots are too expensive or dangerous to be deployed for widespread use. This limits their accessibility to the general public and to researchers interested in improving those systems. Due to the lack of appropriate technology, few have examined even the most basic interactions in human-robot paired walking. To finally enable personal, ambulatory robot companions that interact seamlessly with humans, my innovative research program will address both problems of coordination and accessibility. My proposed research focuses on investigating the mechanical and energetic consequences of paired side-by-side walking with humans and robots. My short-term goals are to build dynamic, walking robots with approachable, two-dimensional manufacturing techniques and to exploit these robots to gain previously unattainable insights into paired human-human and human-robot walking. HQPs will be trained in human subject testing procedures, including movement measurement and analysis, and mechatronics system design. Specific research investigations include the mechanisms governing the selection of preferred gait patterns during paired walking by perturbing robot step frequency and leg length, comparing human gait behavior when walking with a legged system versus a wheeled system, and determining if robots can influence humans to walk with normal or abnormal gaits. This program is just the beginning of a long effort to understand and leverage human-robot gait interaction, which will benefit a broad range of fields. In robotics, program outcomes will demonstrate cost-effective design strategies to help lower the barrier to entry for researchers to participate in studying legged locomotion. Biomechanists will develop a deeper understanding of the determinants of human behavior during paired walking, insights which could aid gait rehabilitation. For the general public, a ubiquitous robot-based workforce can create socio-economic benefits by liberating humans from dangerous, critical, or mundane tasks. For Canada, this could include important economic activities such as logging and mining. As the country's population continues to age rapidly, these ambulatory robot companions could be employed to assist the elderly, by providing affordable, 24-hour care. Following my research program, the opportunities and benefits to society and science that are possible through bipedal walking robot companions, that have only before been envisioned as fiction, will move closer to reality.

机器人自动化在我们的生活中发挥着重要作用，特别是在幕后活动中，如提高仓库和工厂的生产力和工作场所安全。然而，它们在个人或家庭应用中提供类似益处的速度很慢。一个限制因素是，很难制造出能够在人类居住的相同环境中导航的机器。双足步行为实现这种个人机器人伴侣提供了巨大的潜力。然而，目前的步行机器人过于昂贵或危险，无法广泛使用。这限制了公众和对改进这些系统感兴趣的研究人员获取这些系统的机会。由于缺乏适当的技术，很少有人研究人类-机器人配对行走中最基本的交互。为了最终实现与人类无缝互动的个人，走动的机器人伴侣，我的创新研究计划将解决协调和可访问性的问题。我提议的研究重点是调查人类和机器人并排行走的机械和能量后果。我的短期目标是用可接近的二维制造技术制造动态的步行机器人，并利用这些机器人获得以前无法实现的关于人-人和人-机器人配对步行的见解。HQP将接受人体测试程序的培训，包括运动测量和分析以及机电一体化系统设计。具体的研究调查包括管理的机制，通过扰动机器人的步频和腿的长度，比较人类的步态行为时，步行与腿系统与轮式系统，并确定机器人是否可以影响人类正常或异常步态行走在成对的步行模式的选择。该计划只是长期努力理解和利用人机步态交互的开始，这将使广泛的领域受益。在机器人领域，项目成果将展示具有成本效益的设计策略，以帮助降低研究人员参与研究腿部运动的门槛。生物力学将发展更深入的了解人类行为的决定因素，在配对行走，见解，这可能有助于步态康复。对于普通公众来说，无处不在的机器人劳动力可以通过将人类从危险，关键或平凡的任务中解放出来来创造社会经济效益。对加拿大来说，这可能包括伐木和采矿等重要经济活动。随着该国人口持续快速老龄化，这些流动机器人伴侣可以通过提供负担得起的24小时护理来帮助老年人。根据我的研究计划，通过双足步行机器人伴侣可能给社会和科学带来的机会和好处，以前只是想象为虚构，将更接近现实。