A Multi-Agent Control Architecture for a Robotic Wheelchair
Assistant robots like robotic wheelchairs can perform an effective and valuable work in our daily lives. However, they eventually may need external help from humans in the robot environment (particularly, the driver in the case of a wheelchair) to accomplish safely and efficiently some tricky tasks...
Saved in:
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2006-01-01
|
Series: | Applied Bionics and Biomechanics |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1533/abbi.2006.0027 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | Assistant robots like robotic wheelchairs can perform an effective and valuable work in our daily lives. However, they eventually may need external help from humans in the robot environment (particularly, the driver in the case of a wheelchair) to accomplish safely and efficiently some tricky tasks for the current technology, i.e. opening a locked door, traversing a crowded area, etc. This article proposes a control architecture for assistant robots designed under a multi-agent perspective that facilitates the participation of humans into the robotic system and improves the overall performance of the robot as well as its dependability. Within our design, agents have their own intentions and beliefs, have different abilities (that include algorithmic behaviours and human skills) and also learn autonomously the most convenient method to carry out their actions through reinforcement learning. The proposed architecture is illustrated with a real assistant robot: a robotic wheelchair that provides mobility to impaired or elderly people. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 1176-2322 1754-2103 |