Design of an easy upgradable cost efficient autonomous assistive robot ROSWITHA

Abstract

In this paper, a design and development of an assistive robot are proposed that assists to the elderly and handicapped people, such as providing information and care with daily routine supports with the ability to perform various tasks, including the contact safety. Firstly a clear function requirement for such assistive robots was made. Secondly different sub-parts have been mounted to synthesize/unify the functions such as high power, dexterity/competence, mobility, safety and the cost-effectiveness. Additionally, a set of different applications, like the robot moves to other rooms/locations according to the commands given by the user, and the arm performs the task of grabbing and pouring/serving. Based on the application, the assistive prototype robot ROSWITHA (RObot System WITH Autonomy) was developed successfully, that operates using three major systems- the vision system, the arm system and the navigation system. The mechanisms are the camera, LIDAR, ultrasonic sensors, dual arm with gripper and two wheeled mobile vehicle including two castor wheels. Some experiments are performed focusing on assistive tasks using ROSWITHA's sub-systems, indicating that the robot software can be integrated and become extremely useful to improve the living style of the elderly and handicap people in future.