Localization and control of a rehabilitation mobile robot by close human-machine cooperation

In the field of rehabilitation robotics, a mobile personal robot represents an attractive solution, especially in economic terms in comparison with a desktop workstation. A manipulator arm mounted on a mobile robot can facilitate the restoration of the disabled user's manipulative function. In order both to encourage the person to participate in the task at hand and to be cost effective, close human-machine cooperation is essential. The person controls the robot via a remote station and develops strategies to successfully carry out a mission. The main problems encountered by the person during the execution of a mission are electing to change modes, and the mode transition itself. We have examined two aspects of this cooperation: 1) information exchange between human and machine for decision-making and 2) giving to operators complementary and redundant modes to command the system. An experiment has been conducted to study these two aspects. This paper focuses on the control of robot movements in an indoor environment and especially on localization parameters, human-like robot behavior, and the value of proposing complementary control modes to the operator.