Development of a Sensory Data User Interface for a Service Robot

This paper describes the ongoing development of a sensory data visualization module which is conceived to be integrated into the user interface of a manipulatorequipped service robot for assistance tasks. The purpose of the visualization module is to display to the user meaningful shape approximations of the scene starting from the data provided by proximity sensors available on the tip of the manipulator. This information should allow the user to supervise the robot in performing difficult tasks such as identifying and picking up an object from a high shelf or laying in an area not accessible to navigation. Of the two surface reconstruction algorithms investigated, the Power Crust interpolating algorithm has proven better suited for the sparse and uneven information typically returned by proximity and tactile sensors, whereas Hoppe’s approximating algorithm deals more efficiently with the large data sets generated by range scanners. Prologue In 1995 our research group submitted a patent application for an “autonomous moving bar” (or “cocktail cabinet”) to a sponsoring research agency, which was in turn supposed to file the patent to the Italian Patent Office. The patent request was laid in terms of “utility model,” i.e., a novel way to exploit existing technology. The application described drew from the analogy with widespread manual “tea carts” and consisted in exploiting a mobile robot with a suitable hosting bay to carry beverages, liquors, glasses, and ice cubes in living rooms and party halls, i.e., for purely leisure purposes. Using a remote control, the moving bar could be prompted to perform one of several tasks, including approaching the remote or roaming around randomly in the environment with frequent stops (for party service). The robot performed these tasks using reactive navigation and collision avoidance. In the description accompanying the patent application we also mentioned that the autonomous moving bar, in addition to being an object for personal enjoyment, could be exploited for other purposes by motion-impaired people such as elderly and ill people.