Quasimoro: A Telerobot for the Augmentation of Wheelchair Users

This paper focuses on the experiments conducted using a telerobot for the augmentation of wheelchair users. After providing the motivation and the background material, a strawman task is formulated. A robot is then conceived to meet the assigned task (i.e. user, environment and payload definitions). The proposed robot meets both cost and control simplification requirements necessary to the success of a robotic assistive device. A minimalistic design allows to achieve the requirements on cost and control complexity. An architecture based on a minimum number of driving units and sensors is devised. Experiments on the interactive control of the robot are performed. We demonstrate that the robot is capable to navigate through a cluttered environment while being teleoperated. Experiments also show that the system remains in its footpring when a rotation in place is assigned by the user; this is an important feature that prevents the system from colliding with any object nearby. Finally, always via experiments, we show that the system is capable to bring a tray of drinks, food and reading material while being teleoperated.