Universal Design with Robots Toward the Wide Use of Robots in Daily Life Environment

Abstract

Robots are expected to provide help to those who need it in the aging society like Japan. Recently various kinds of home-use robots have been developed to support people in their daily life. However, robot's tasks are hindered in many different ways. Universal Design with Robots (UDRobTM) has been proposed to cope with these problems. Interface designs for mobility, handling, and image processing are especially considered as a basic concept of UDRobTM. Conceptual design of the robot system based on UDRobTM has been described here and it helps the realization of coexistence between robots and humans. Arrangement of environmental design has the potential of tremendously improving a robot's activities. However, that arrangement should be also useful to its user. The point of UDRobTM is not on requiring a special design for robots but on arranging a common design for humans and robots. As a result, it will improve the quality of our life. Collaboration between designers and robotics engineers are expected to be intensifying in the near future.