HARMONY
The Harmony project investigates how we can develop robots that can autonomously manipulate objects and move around in human-centered environments in a safe and socially acceptable manner. 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 coworking 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.
The project addresses two use cases, namely delivering supplies from an on-site warehouse to specific locations in a hospital, and the automation of diagnostic biomaterials that arrive at a hospital. At the University of Twente, we are working on safety and acceptability recommendations for the use of mobile manipulators in human-centered environments, as well as designing the robot’s behaviour and communication.
Link to website: https://harmony-eu.org/
Contact person:
Bob Schadenberg
b.r.schadenberg@utwente.nl
+31 (0) 53 489 1011