Deliver safety and acceptability recommendations for the use of mobile manipulators in human-centred environments
A crucial requirement of our project is that we develop robotic technologies that are able to adapt and operate within existing infrastructures with minimal environment engineering.
To realise this, a robotic mobile manipulator must operate in a human-centred space and therefore must be aware of, interpret the behaviour of, reason about and adapt to people. Moreover, the robots need to cooperate safely and seamlessly with human co-workers and other people who share the same space, which includes providing strict guarantees on aspects such as safety, accuracy and patient privacy during navigation, handover, carrying and co-working tasks.
These factors can be prohibitive to social acceptance of the technology and industry take-up and thus will be addressed carefully throughout the project.