Servo - June 2011

GEERHEAD

Cody’s XBOX 360 robot head containing the cameras and laser sensor.

switch to stop the robot if necessary. The low stiffness in the robot’s arms means that impact with the human subject is lessened. The robot controller also limits the downward force of the hand when wiping. Operators can manually command the robot to stop if the force measured in the robot’s wrist sensor exceeds a certain value.

A Robot’s Touch

Cody’s robot torso.

the operator can choose the area of the subject that they wish the robot to wipe down. Then, the robot performs the wiping in a fully autonomous fashion.

A number of safety features are provided to keep human subjects from harm when the robot is touching them. The robot is mounted with a run stop button or kill The robot starts the touching behavior by making initial contact with the forearm, then moving the end effector and towel along the forearm. In the experiment, the researchers tested two hypotheses. First, the patient will accept the robot-initiated touch more if it is seen as instrumental to their care, rather than have it be affective (comforting). Second, subjects will find the touch more favorable when the robot gives them a verbal warning first.