A Robotic Walker that Provides Guidance

This paper describes a robotic walker designed as an assistive device for frail elderly people with cognitive impairment. Locomotion is most often the primary form of exercise for the elderly, and devices that provide mobility assistance are critical for the health and well being of such individuals. Previous work on walkers focused primarily on safety but offered little or no assistance with navigation and global orientation. Our system provides these features in addition to the stability and support provided by conventional walkers. This capability is achieved by a software suite of robot localization and navigation combined with a shared-control haptic interface. The system has been tested in a retirement facility near Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: ICRA
• Authors: Aaron Morris, Raghavendra Donamukkala, Anuj Kapuria, Aaron Steinfeld, Judith T. Matthews, Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacobs, Sebastian Thrun
• Keywords: Assistive Device, Frail Elderly People, ICRA 2003, Robotics, Shared-control Haptic Interface