SmartWalker: Towards an Intelligent Robotic Walker for the Elderly

Shin, Jiwon; Itten, David; Rusakov, Andrey; Meyer, Bertrand

doi:10.1109/ie.2015.10

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The aims of this research are to understand 1) whether or not a robotic walker an attractive alternative to a traditional walker; 2) if gesture-based interface an acceptable form of user interface for the elderly; and 3) if the ability to move autonomously and the motorized support are useful functionalities. This paper extends the authors' previous work on gesture-based interface for the SMARTWALKER robot [29] with the work on automatic speed control [30].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 54%

SmartWalker: An intelligent robotic walker

Shin

Rusakov

Meyer

2016

AIS

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Ensuring mobility of the elderly is an important task in our aging society. To this end, this paper presents SMART-WALKER, a high-tech extension of a regular walker that aims to navigate around its environment autonomously and assist its user intelligently. The walker is equipped with sensors and actuators and operates in two modes, autonomous and assistive. In the autonomous mode, the walker accepts gesture commands via its gesture-based interface and navigates around accordingly. The interface uses a k-nearest neighbors classifier with dynamic time warping to recognize gestures and the Viola and Jones face detector to locate the user. In the assistive mode, its automatic speed controller determines the optimal speed for the walker. The walker locates its user by detecting the user's legs using a laser range scanner and combines the information with other sensory data for the speed control. The walker was evaluated with residents of retirement homes in Zürich. The study aimed to understand the usefulness of robotic walker to the elderly, evaluate its potential to replace traditional walkers, and determine the appropriateness of the added functionality. The elderly found the SMARTWALKER's autonomy useful and exciting and the walker with the controller slightly more comfortable and easier to maneuver. They stated that the walker is too big and too heavy but liked it more than traditional walkers in the assistive mode.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 54%

SmartWalker: An intelligent robotic walker

Shin

Rusakov

Meyer

2016

AIS

Self Cite

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“…Even exoskeletons, a relative mature robotic solution with several available products on the market, are reported to be heavy and bulky, which makes it inconvenient to be used in daily life [41]. Older adults' unfamiliarity with technology also contributes to the low acceptance of robotic supporting tools [42]. Robustness is another factor worth mentioning.…”

Section: Ambient Assisted Living (Aal)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Robotics Research in Support of In-Home Care for Older Adults

2020

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The aging population is growing at an unprecedented rate globally and robotics-enabled solutions are being developed to provide better independent living for older adults. In this study, we report the results from a systematic review of the state-of-the-art in home robotics research for caring for older adults. This review aims to address two questions: (1) What research is being done towards integrating robotics for caring for older adults? (2) What are the research and technology challenges that robots are facing in the home? Sixty-three papers have been identified and studied in this review by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Common themes that are consistent across the reviewed papers are distinguished and consolidated as follows: (1) Ambient assisted living, where smart home environments and physical support tools are studied; (2) Robot ecosystem, where robotic devices are used to provide various services; (3) Social interaction, where the social isolation problem has been targeted. We also summarize the results of similar literature reviews we came across during our search. The results of this study present the current research trends and technologies used in each category. The challenges and limitations of robotics applications are also identified. Suggestions for accelerating the deployment of robots at home for providing older adults with independent care in the home are presented based on the results and insights from this study.

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“…Seven studies involving 168 participants explored the application of robots to assist older people with ambulation -that is, the ability to walk without assistance. Six studies used the robot to walk a pre-set path assigned by the researchers (Shin et al 2015, Hsieh, Huang et al 2016, Mucchiani, Sharma et al 2017, Cavallo, Esposito et al 2018, Jin, Xiong et al 2019, Ferrari, Divan et al 2020. The remaining study used a robot to aid physical activity post-surgery (Pérez-Rodríguez, Moreno-Sánchez et al 2020).…”

Section: Ambulationmentioning

confidence: 99%