Integrating Human Inputs with Autonomous Behaviors on an Intelligent Wheelchair Platform

Saranghi P. Parikh, U.S. Naval Academy
Valdir Grassi Jr., University of Pennsylvania
R. Vijay Kumar, University of Pennsylvania
Jun Okamoto Jr., University of S�ão Paulo

Article comments

Copyright 2007 IEEE. Reprinted from IEEE Intelligent Systems, Volume 22, Issue 2, April 2007, pages 33-41.

This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of the University of Pennsylvania's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to pubs-permissions@ieee.org. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.

Abstract

Researchers have developed and assessed a computer-controlled wheelchair called the Smart Chair. A shared control framework has different levels of autonomy, allowing the human operator complete control of the chair at each level while ensuring the user's safety. The semiautonomous system incorporates deliberative motion plans or controllers, reactive behaviors, and human user inputs. At every instant in time, control inputs from three sources are integrated continuously to provide a safe trajectory to the destination. Experiments with 50 participants demonstrate quantitatively and qualitatively the benefits of human-robot augmentation in three modes of operation: manual, autonomous, and semiautonomous. This article is part of a special issue on Interacting with Autonomy.