{"210251":{"#nid":"210251","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robots Able to Reach through Clutter with Whole-Arm Tactile Sensing","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhether reaching for a book out of a cluttered cabinet or pruning a bush in the backyard, a person\u2019s arm frequently makes contact with objects during everyday tasks. Animals do it too, when foraging for food, for example.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMuch in the same way, robots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task. This new control method has wide applications, ranging from robots for search-and-rescue operations to assistive robotics for people with disabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUp until now, the dominant strategies for robot manipulation have discouraged contact between the robot\u2019s arm and the world,\u201d said Charlie Kemp, lead researcher and associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECoulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cInstead of avoiding contact, our approach enables the arm to make contact with objects, people and the rest of the robot while keeping forces low.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKemp, director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Healthcare Robotics Lab, along with his graduate students and researchers at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mekabot.com\/\u0022\u003EMeka Robotics\u003C\/a\u003E, has\u0026nbsp;developed a control method that works in tandem with compliant robotic joints and whole-arm tactile sensing. This technology keeps the robot\u2019s arm flexible and gives the robot a sense of touch across its entire arm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith their control method, Kemp\u2019s robots have performed numerous tasks, such as reaching through dense artificial foliage and a cinder block representative of environments that search-and-rescue robots can encounter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA publication describing the research, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/intl-ijr.sagepub.com\/content\/32\/4\/458\u0022\u003E\u201cReaching in Clutter with Whole-arm Tactile Sensing\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d appears in this month\u2019s edition of the \u003Cem\u003EInternational Journal of Robotics Research\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKemp\u0027s lab also has promising results that could impact the future of assistive robotics. They have developed tactile sensors made out of stretchable fabric that covers the entire arm of a robot. In a preliminary trial with the new control method and sensors, Henry Evans, a person with quadriplegia, used the robot to perform tasks for himself. He was able to pull a blanket over himself and grab a cloth to wipe his face, all while he was in bed at his home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis trial was conducted as part of the Robots for Humanity project with Willow Garage. In order to ensure safety, researchers from Kemp\u2019s lab closely monitored the activities. This research has been accepted and will be presented at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwconf\/icorr2013\/\u0022\u003EInternational Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics\u003C\/a\u003E in June.\u0026nbsp;\u2028\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think it\u2019s a good safety feature because it hardly presses against me even when I tell it to,\u201d Evans said after the trial. \u201cIt really feels safe to be close to the robot.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvans was also impressed by how the robot\u2019s arm \u201cjust wriggles around obstacles.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKemp\u2019s research team has also released the designs and code for the sensors and controller as \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hsi.gatech.edu\/hrl\/project_open_source_whole_arm_tactile_sensing.shtml\u0022\u003Eopen source hardware and software\u003C\/a\u003E so that researchers and hobbyists can build on the work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research is part of an ongoing effort to create a new foundation for robotics, where contact between the robot\u2019s arm and the world is encouraged.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur belief is that this approach is the way of the future for robots,\u201d said Kemp, who is also a member of Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Robotics and Intelligent Machines\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cIt is going to allow robots to better operate in our homes, our workplaces and other complex environments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is funded by the DARPA Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) Contract W911NF-11-1- 603. The assistive technology research is also funded in part by NSF CAREER award IIS-1150157, NSF grant CNS-0958545, an NSF GRFP and Willow Garage.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATIONS\u003C\/strong\u003E: Advait Jain, Marc D Killpack, Aaron Edsinger, and Charles C Kemp. Reaching in Clutter with Whole-arm Tactile Sensing. The International Journal of Robotics Research, April 2013, 32: 458-482, doi:10.1177\/0278364912471865\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhillip M. Grice, Marc D. Killpack, Advait Jain, Sarvagya Vaish, Jeffrey Hawke, and Charles C. Kemp. Whole-arm Tactile Sensing for Beneficial and Acceptable Contact During Robotic Assistance. Accepted to the 13th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), June 2013.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERobots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task, thanks to technology developed by Dr. Charlie Kemp and the Healthcare Robotics Lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Robots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task, thanks to technology developed by Dr. Charlie Kemp and the Healthcare Robotics Lab."}],"uid":"27462","created_gmt":"2013-04-29 15:48:19","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:08","author":"Liz Klipp","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"210121":{"id":"210121","type":"image","title":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter","body":null,"created":"1449180018","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:00:18","changed":"1475894869","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:49","alt":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter","file":{"fid":"196870","name":"kemp_robot3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2737475,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kemp_robot3_0.jpg?itok=1gdPDJT7"}},"210131":{"id":"210131","type":"image","title":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 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3","body":null,"created":"1449180018","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:00:18","changed":"1475894869","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:49","alt":"Robots Reaching Through Clutter - 3","file":{"fid":"196873","name":"kemp_robot1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kemp_robot1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6015663,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kemp_robot1_0.jpg?itok=pr3NSaIa"}}},"media_ids":["210121","210131","210141","210151"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/healthcare-robotics.com\/","title":"Healthcare Robotics Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/charliekemp.com\/","title":"Website of Dr. Charlie Kemp"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/HealthcareRobotics","title":"Additional Videos on YouTube"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2157","name":"Charlie Kemp"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"36141","name":"Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University"},{"id":"12319","name":"Healthcare Robotics Lab"},{"id":"65291","name":"Henry Evans"},{"id":"65331","name":"Meka Robotics"},{"id":"65321","name":"robots reaching in clutter"},{"id":"65251","name":"tactile sensing"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["klipp@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}