A Roadmap for US Robotics – From Internet to Robotics 2020 Edition

Foundations and Trends in Robotics · 2021 · 53 citations

• Artificial Intelligence
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science

Recently, the robotics industry celebrated its 60-year anniversary. We have used robots for more than six decades to empower people to do things that are typically dirty, dull and/or dangerous. The industry has progressed significantly over the period from basic mechanical assist systems to fully autonomous cars, environmental monitoring and exploration of outer space. We have seen tremendous adoption of IT technology in our daily lives for a diverse set of support tasks. Through use of robots we are starting to see a new revolution, as we not only will have IT support from tablets, phones, computers but also systems that can physically interact with the world and assist with daily tasks, work, and leisure activities. The present document is a summary of the main societal opportunities identified, the associated challenges to deliver desired solutions and a presentation of efforts to be undertaken to ensure that US will continue to be a leader in robotics both in terms of research innovation, adoption of the latest technology, and adoption of appropriate policy frameworks that ensure that the technology is utilized in a responsible fashion.

Augmenting Virtual Reality Terrain Display with Smart Shoe Physical Rendering: A Pilot Study

IEEE Transactions on Haptics · 2020 · 16 citations

• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science

Haptic terrain rendering is limited in existing Virtual Reality (VR) systems. This article describes integration of the Smart Shoe (SS) for physical terrain display with the TreadPort VR system. The SS renders both gross sloped terrain and subtle sensations of stepping on small objects or uneven surfaces. The TreadPort projects terrain on the floor and the SS renders terrain that the user steps upon via motion tracking. The research is motivated towards eventually providing gait training for people with Parkinson's Disease (PD), hence this work presents a pilot study evaluating haptic terrain rendering with healthy elderly and PD participants wearing the SS within the TreadPort. Uneven cobblestone surfaces are rendered by the SS as the participant steps on their graphical representation in VR. While posthoc analysis shows the study is underpowered, kinematic and spatiotemporal results derived from motion capture data demonstrates kinesthetic response (e.g., increased maximum ankle angle and minimum toe clearance, reduced minimum ankle angle and knee angle) provided by the SS. Questionnaire data shows increased VR realism and difficulty walking on cobbled terrain using SS rendering. Thus, results indicate that the integrated haptic system demonstrates promise in potential gait training for PD in future work.