Type of Publication: Article in Journal

Little Helper: A Multi-Robot System in Home Health Care Environments

Author(s):

Pascher, Max; Baumeister, Annalies; Klein, Barbara; Schneegass, Stefan; Gerken, Jens

Title of Journal:

Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile [ENAC]

:

Location(s):

Glasgow, United Kingdom

Citation:

Download BibTeX

Abstract

Being able to live independently and self-determined in once own home is a crucial factor for social participation. For people with severe physical impairments, such as tetraplegia, who cannot use their hands to manipulate materials or operate devices, life in their own home is only possible with assistance from others. The inability to operate buttons and other interfaces results also in not being able to utilize most assistive technologies on their own. In this paper, we present an ethnographic field study with 15 tetraplegics to better understand their living environments and needs. Results show the potential for robotic solutions but emphasize the need to support activities of daily living (ADL), such as grabbing and manipulating objects or opening doors. Based on this, we propose Little Helper, a tele-operated pack of robot drones, collaborating in a divide and conquer paradigm to fulfill several tasks using a unique interaction method. The drones can be tele-operated by a user through gaze-based selection and head motions and gestures manipulating materials and applications.