IALS CPHM Human-Centered Robotics Research Thrust

MOTIVATION

Robots promise to enhance human health and quality of life in a multitude of ways. For instance, they hold the potential to (1) reduce the risk of injury during strenuous activities, (2) increase overall health through implicit exercise, (3) restore functional behaviors for those with motor impairments, (4) offer opportunities for remote operation, ensuring the safety of medical and emergency personnel dangerous environments (e.g., infectious disease outbreaks, disaster relief), and (5) automation to enhance to efficiency of the healthcare services. Fulfillment of this promise, however, still requires technological advancements to ensure that robotic systems can interact with humans safely and effectively.

FOSTERING NEW COLLABORATIONS

A major challenge in the design and development of human-centered robotic systems is the need for expertise across multiple disciplines. Currently, most robotic systems operate in isolated environments void of human contact. Bringing robots into human environments, however, requires that they have extra capabilities, namely the ability to measure and make sense of human intent, perception, and behavior during interaction. We posit that establishing connections between (1) Center for Personalized Health Monitoring faculty, who have expertise in developing and evaluating low-cost, multi-function, wearable, wireless sensor systems to measure human behavior, (2) the broader healthcare community, who have expertise on the opportunities and needs for innovative solutions, and (3) the robotics faculty, will lead synergistic research opportunities in the rapidly growing field of human-centered robotics.

The Human-Centered Robotics Research Thrust funded by the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) Center for Personalized Health Monitoring (CPHM).