Robohub.org
 

Toyota Partner Robot provides everyday assistance for people with disabilities

by
04 October 2012



share this:

12-0175-rToyota has developed the Partner Robot, to provide everyday assistance for people with disabilities. This robot has a compact, cylindrical body, so it can turn round in small spaces, as well as folding arms, which can do tasks such as fetching objects and opening curtains. The robot is controlled easily, by using the touch interface on a smartphone or speech recognition. It can also be controlled remotely by a caregiver, while communicating with the user.

“For robots to operate in ordinary living spaces, the most important factor is their size. So, in developing this one, we’ve prioritized making it compact.”

“The picture from the robot’s camera is shown on the user’s tablet. We’ve achieved a capability where, if there’s a dropped object in the picture, the user can tap it, and the robot automatically picks the object up. As for fetching things, it’s currently very difficult for robots to find and bring back objects in ordinary environments. So, for now, we’ve achieved a system where the user puts their favorite things in specific boxes, and registers the boxes, so the robot can automatically fetch things from there.”

The robot’s height can vary between 83cm and 1.3m, so it can reach things in high places. When the robot picks something up, it can also use a suction mechanism, so it can handle thin objects like paper as well.

“Regarding capabilities, we actually surveyed people with disabilities, together with the Japan Service Dog Association, to find out what capabilities users want a robot to have. The results showed that there’s a strong need for robots that can pick up dropped objects, fetch wanted objects, and communicate remotely, to report an emergency, for example. So the first thing we’ve done in developing this robot is, we’ve given it those three capabilities.”

“We’ve done a trial with Yokohama Rehabilitation Center, and we’ve already found some issues that need thinking about. So, the first thing we’ll do now is, we’ll implement capabilities to handle those. For example, people would like the robot to operate switches and open doors. We’ll be testing capabilities like that in our trials.”



tags: , ,


DigInfo TV is a Tokyo-based online video news platform dedicated to producing original coverage of cutting edge technology, research and products from Japan.
DigInfo TV is a Tokyo-based online video news platform dedicated to producing original coverage of cutting edge technology, research and products from Japan.





Related posts :



Interview with Dautzenberg Roman: #IROS2023 Best Paper Award on Mobile Manipulation sponsored by OMRON Sinic X Corp.

The award-winning author describe their work on an aerial robot which can exert large forces onto walls.
19 November 2023, by

Robot Talk Episode 62 – Jorvon Moss

In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Jorvon (Odd-Jayy) Moss from Digikey about making robots at home, and robot design and aesthetics.
17 November 2023, by

California is the robotics capital of the world

In California, robotics technology is a small fish in a much bigger technology pond, and that tends to conceal how important Californian companies are to the robotics revolution.
12 November 2023, by

Robot Talk Episode 61 – Masoumeh Mansouri

In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Masoumeh (Iran) Mansouri from the University of Birmingham about culturally sensitive robots and planning in complex environments.
10 November 2023, by

The 5 levels of Sustainable Robotics

Robots can solve the UN SDGs and not just via the application area.
08 November 2023, by

Using language to give robots a better grasp of an open-ended world

By blending 2D images with foundation models to build 3D feature fields, a new MIT method helps robots understand and manipulate nearby objects with open-ended language prompts.
06 November 2023, by





©2021 - ROBOTS Association


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association