COORDINATING THE MOTION OF A HUMAN AND A MOBILE ROBOT IN A POPULATED, PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT

摘要

In this paper we describe an approach to coordinating the motion of a human with a mobile robot moving in a populated, continuously changing natural environment. The test application which we consider is a wheelchair accompanying a person through the concourse of a railway station moving side by side with the person. In healthcare and rehabilitation scenarios this addresses a rather important issue. Pushing and maneuvering a carriage such as a wheelchair or a hospital bed, exposes the back of the pushing person to significant strain often resulting in severe long-term back problems. Having a wheelchair which could autonomously accompany a person side by side through a natural public environment could eliminate this problem. Our approach is based on a method for motion planning amongst moving obstacles which is known as Velocity Obstacle approach. We extend this method by a method for tracking a virtual target which allows us to vary the robot's heading and velocity with the locomotion of the accompanied person and the state of the surrounding environment. Our approach is capable of demonstrating an "accompanying behavior", and its performance is shown in a real-world scenario.