RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic Use
Any severe motor disability is a condition that limits the ability to interact with the environment, even the domestic one, caused by the loss of control over one’s mobility. This work presents RoboEYE, a power wheelchair designed to allow users to move easily and autonomously within their homes. To...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Technologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/9/1/16 |
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| author | Luca Maule Alessandro Luchetti Matteo Zanetti Paolo Tomasin Marco Pertile Mattia Tavernini Giovanni M. A. Guandalini Mariolino De Cecco |
| author_facet | Luca Maule Alessandro Luchetti Matteo Zanetti Paolo Tomasin Marco Pertile Mattia Tavernini Giovanni M. A. Guandalini Mariolino De Cecco |
| author_sort | Luca Maule |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Any severe motor disability is a condition that limits the ability to interact with the environment, even the domestic one, caused by the loss of control over one’s mobility. This work presents RoboEYE, a power wheelchair designed to allow users to move easily and autonomously within their homes. To achieve this goal, an innovative, cost-effective and user-friendly control system was designed, in which a non-invasive eye tracker, a monitor, and a 3D camera represent some of the core elements. RoboEYE integrates functionalities from the mobile robotics field into a standard power wheelchair, with the main advantage of providing the user with two driving options and comfortable navigation. The most intuitive and direct modality foresees the continuous control of frontal and angular wheelchair velocities by gazing at different areas of the monitor. The second, semi-autonomous modality allows navigation toward a selected point in the environment by just pointing and activating the wished destination while the system autonomously plans and follows the trajectory that brings the wheelchair to that point. The purpose of this work was to develop the control structure and driving interface designs of the aforementioned driving modalities taking into account also uncertainties in gaze detection and other sources of uncertainty related to the components to ensure user safety. Furthermore, the driving modalities, in particular the semi-autonomous one, were modeled and qualified through numerical simulations and experimental verification by testing volunteers, who are regular users of standard electric wheelchairs, to verify the efficiency, reliability and safety of the proposed system for domestic use. RoboEYE resulted suitable for environments with narrow passages wider than 1 m, which is comparable with a standard domestic door and due to its properties with large commercialization potential. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:34:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-85ee935bd3304dc5b7d10761927ceeb4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7080 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:34:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Technologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-85ee935bd3304dc5b7d10761927ceeb42023-12-11T18:14:26ZengMDPI AGTechnologies2227-70802021-02-01911610.3390/technologies9010016RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic UseLuca Maule0Alessandro Luchetti1Matteo Zanetti2Paolo Tomasin3Marco Pertile4Mattia Tavernini5Giovanni M. A. Guandalini6Mariolino De Cecco7Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive, 9, Povo, 38123 Trento, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive, 9, Povo, 38123 Trento, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive, 9, Povo, 38123 Trento, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive, 9, Povo, 38123 Trento, ItalyDipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale DII, University of Padova-Via Venezia, 1, 35121 Padova, ItalyRobosense, Viale Dante 300, 38057 Pergine Valsugana, ItalyOspedale Riabilitativo-Villa Rosa, Via Spolverine 84, 38057 Pergine Valsugana, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive, 9, Povo, 38123 Trento, ItalyAny severe motor disability is a condition that limits the ability to interact with the environment, even the domestic one, caused by the loss of control over one’s mobility. This work presents RoboEYE, a power wheelchair designed to allow users to move easily and autonomously within their homes. To achieve this goal, an innovative, cost-effective and user-friendly control system was designed, in which a non-invasive eye tracker, a monitor, and a 3D camera represent some of the core elements. RoboEYE integrates functionalities from the mobile robotics field into a standard power wheelchair, with the main advantage of providing the user with two driving options and comfortable navigation. The most intuitive and direct modality foresees the continuous control of frontal and angular wheelchair velocities by gazing at different areas of the monitor. The second, semi-autonomous modality allows navigation toward a selected point in the environment by just pointing and activating the wished destination while the system autonomously plans and follows the trajectory that brings the wheelchair to that point. The purpose of this work was to develop the control structure and driving interface designs of the aforementioned driving modalities taking into account also uncertainties in gaze detection and other sources of uncertainty related to the components to ensure user safety. Furthermore, the driving modalities, in particular the semi-autonomous one, were modeled and qualified through numerical simulations and experimental verification by testing volunteers, who are regular users of standard electric wheelchairs, to verify the efficiency, reliability and safety of the proposed system for domestic use. RoboEYE resulted suitable for environments with narrow passages wider than 1 m, which is comparable with a standard domestic door and due to its properties with large commercialization potential.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/9/1/16human–machine interfaceuncertaintyeye trackergazewheelchairautonomous driving |
| spellingShingle | Luca Maule Alessandro Luchetti Matteo Zanetti Paolo Tomasin Marco Pertile Mattia Tavernini Giovanni M. A. Guandalini Mariolino De Cecco RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic Use Technologies human–machine interface uncertainty eye tracker gaze wheelchair autonomous driving |
| title | RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic Use |
| title_full | RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic Use |
| title_fullStr | RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic Use |
| title_full_unstemmed | RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic Use |
| title_short | RoboEye, an Efficient, Reliable and Safe Semi-Autonomous Gaze Driven Wheelchair for Domestic Use |
| title_sort | roboeye an efficient reliable and safe semi autonomous gaze driven wheelchair for domestic use |
| topic | human–machine interface uncertainty eye tracker gaze wheelchair autonomous driving |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/9/1/16 |
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