Robot trunk hanging from the ceiling could help the elderly and physically disabled
21.12.2011
A group of students participating in a project course at Aalto University is working on a robot shaped like an elephant’s trunk. The ceiling robot has been designed so that it is suitable for helping old or disabled people to perform household chores.
The project was approved as one of the student projects of the MIDE (Multidisciplinary Institute of Digitalisation and Energy) research programme in 2008. The programme is funded by the centennial fund of the Helsinki University of Technology.
The research project will continue at least through 2012. The rail system along which the robot moves and the first prototype of the robot trunk have already been completed. However, there is still a lot of interesting work ahead including the further development of the trunk, control solutions for the robot and the creation of artificial intelligence.
The participants of the robot project have included students from various schools of Aalto University as well as exchange students from foreign universities. In addition to students of technology, experts from other fields such as industrial design are also needed for the project: since the robot is intended for use at home, it is not insignificant whether the object hanging from the living room ceiling resembles a trunk or a tentacle.
Movement, gravity and energy supply create technical challenges
Aarne Halme, Emeritus Professor in automation technology, finds that the questions related to the movement of the robot, the utilisation of gravity and the robot’s energy supply make the ceiling robot concept technically interesting.
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Programming robots that move along the floor is challenging because they have to be able to avoid furniture and moving people. Since ceiling structures are unchangeable, planning the robot’s movement along the ceiling is easier. When the movement solution of the trunk-shaped robot was being planned, several options were considered including spider-like legs, but finally the project team decided that the robot would move on rails.
Securing the energy supply of independently moving robots is a fundamental problem because batteries require regular charging. In the ceiling robot project, this problem has been solved by designing the robot so that it gets its energy directly from the rail system it moves along on the ceiling.
Since gravity is on the side of downward movements, it is possible to use lighter structures to build the robot. The robot trunk needs to be as flexible as possible.
“Elephants use their trunk skilfully, but attaining the same agility with a robot trunk is very challenging,” Halme explains.
The robot must also be able to understand distances and navigate in a three-dimensional space so that it can grab objects and perform other tasks.
Flexible solutions are also required for controlling the robot. It can perform simple tasks independently, but when heavy items such as furniture are being moved the user needs to be able to control the robot by using some kind of remote control.
Imagination is the limit
Household robots are being developed around the world and they will become increasingly important as the population ages. The ceiling robot is useful in tasks requiring muscle, such as helping a disabled person to get up from a chair. Robots are also suitable for communication and monitoring: a robot can keep an eye on elderly people living on their own and alert them of various situations, such as the cooker being left on.
In the future, robots may also be useful to people who do not need special help. When household chores can be delegated to a robot, people can use their spare time doing something more pleasant. According to previous research, people would especially like to use robots for household cleaning tasks.
“In Japan, they have found a market for butler-like household robots: the robots talk to their owners and fetch objects by request. The uses for robots are culture-bound,” Halme says.
Text: Anni Aarinen, Kuvat: Mikko Raskinen