Assistive mobile manipulators have the potential
to one day serve as surrogates and helpers for people with
disabilities, giving them the freedom to perform tasks such as
scratching an itch, picking up a cup, or socializing with their
families. This article introduces a collaborative project with the
goal of putting...
Numerous diseases and injuries can limit a person's ability to perform everyday tasks -- things like getting dressed, bathing, and eating. Anything that requires physical activity can be affected; even simple things like turning on the lights can become difficult or impossible. Until recently, the only way for a person...
Gender issues have recently received increased attention in human robot interaction (HRI). Because robots are becoming part of our homes and daily lives, it is important to understand how different groups of people use them. To the best of our knowledge, almost no research has been done that investigates gender...
In the past half century, industrial robots have developed a strong presence in manufacturing. They now commonly perform tasks such as materials handling, assembly, welding, and painting. Unfortunately robotic machining tasks have seen limited deployments. The majority of machining robots are designed for soft materials like wood or plastic and...
This dissertation focuses on personal privacy in human-robot interaction, which we call "privacy-sensitive robotics." Our understanding of "privacy" is very broad, including not just information privacy but also physical, psychological, and social privacy. We begin by surveying the scholarly literature on privacy and talking about why it applies to interactions...