Implementing Map Based Navigation in Guido, the Robotic SmartWalker

Abstract

Guido is a healthcare robot that serves as support and navigation aid for the frail and visually impaired. The previous assistive navigation software has been replaced by a full map based control, including real time feature based map building (SLAM) and pose tracking (both using an EKF), and path planning and collision avoidance. Real experiments have been carried out, both in the lab and in the hospital, with great success, showing a high improvement in the ease of use and convenience of the system. The map building and editing tools have proved to be extremely useful, enabling the system to be installed in a new environment in just minutes.

Assistive technologies for the new generation of senior citizens: the SHARE-it approach

“…Research in AT and mobility aids has also focused in the last years on robotic walkers like VA-PAMAID (Rentscheler et al, 2003), Guido (Rodriguez-Losada et al, 2005), Care-o-bot (Graf et al, 2004), COOL aide (Wasson et al, 2007), ORTW-II (Nejatbakhsh and Kosuge, 2005) or iWalker (Kulyukin et al, 2008). All these systems share the same structure of the robotic wheelchairs (sensors, CPU, control software).…”

“…Guido (Rodriguez-Losada et al, 2005) and VA-PAMAID (Rentscheler et al, 2003) both offer the capability of parking itself and coming back to the user at will. Most of these projects remain at prototype stage, lacking experimentation with real disabled users.…”

“…Previous experience with assistive walkers [e.g., Thrun et al's seminal work (Glover et al, 2003;Rodriguez-Losada et al, 2005)] shows that giving navigation directions to aged persons is a definite success; the ability to safely reach a desired goal (e.g., the cafeteria, a friends room in a building), and come back (! ), overcomes uncertainty barriers and increases mobility and the motivation for exercise through walking.…”

User-Oriented Evaluation of a Robotic Rollator That Provides Navigation Assistance in Frail Older Adults with and without Cognitive Impairment

“…There are RRs that guide the user along a preplanned path towards a previously specified destination rather passively, providing solely route directions in the form of audio cues (e.g., "Please turn right"), visual instructions (e.g., direction arrow on a screen), and/or haptic signals (e.g., vibrating handles/ bracelets) while the user has full motion control over the direction of travel [17][18][19]. Other RRs provide navigation assistance (also) more actively, controlling to some extent the motion direction of the RR to assist the user in staying on the preplanned path; for example, by an RR-generated virtual force that guides the user back to the path when he/she deviates from it [20], by adjusting the steering angle of the front wheels towards the path to be followed [21,22], or by slowing down the velocity of the RR when the user deviates too much from the preplanned path [23]. Independent of their technical implementation, the evidence gathered in evaluation studies on the effectiveness of such RR-integrated navigation assistance systems in the potential end-users is scarce.…”

A Reactive Robotized Interface for Lower Limb Rehabilitation: Clinical Results

“…It supposes that disbalance during gait could be resolved by a zimmer frame. The kind of suitable robotics solution designs able to bring an asset to life of patient that we address in this paper are coming from research that are dedicated to rehabilitate and to assist gait for elderly as: Care-O-Bot [11], Guido [12], Walker RT [13] or MONIMAD [14] that are presented in Fig. 4.…”