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ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Robot, can you lend a hand?
By G. Denise Lance
Every so often, I think, "I really need a robot". No. I'm not too lazy to get up and get a snack. I have cerebral palsy, which makes walking and using my hands difficult. I rely upon family and paid assistants to help me with most personal tasks and housework.
Even if I find reliable people, paying for help is expensive. I recently set out on the Web to find my own version of Rosie from The Jetson's. While much research aims to find ways that robotics can help people with disabilities, many of the devices remain in prototype form.
"Be careful, though. If you push too hard, Domo says "Ouch!""
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It's frustrating to find a promising robotic assistant, only to learn that I can't bring it home and put it to work immediately. Right now, robotic arms are my most viable option, but a full-fledged robotic assistant may not be too far in the future.
The Vision Arm
Smart Robots will soon offer the Vision Arm for beta-testing. The arm, as seen in Figure A, has an up to four foot reach, and it can grasp, carry, and release objects up to five pounds.
FIGURE A
 
The Vision Arm has not only a long reach but a huge price tag. Roll over picture for a larger image.
A camera attached to the arm senses objects. A PC interface controls the unit, but with continued use, the Vision Arm learns repeated actions and operates automatically.
Portability is not a feature of this 50-pound device, so I would need to attach the Vision Arm to a tabletop. Heftiness also severely limits its utility. While I could use it to grab food off pantry shelves, it would not be available to reach books from office shelves, or towels, toiletries, and other items in the bathroom closet.
At $12,950 each, I would have to be Oprah to afford one in each room. I think I'll wave goodbye to the Vision Arm for now.
Assistive Robotic Manipulator
Netherlands company Exact Dynamics offers the Assistive Robotic Manipulator (ARM), which operates much like other robotic appendages. You operate the ARM via a keypad, joystick, or switch. The ARM, shown in Figure B, stands alone on a tripod or connects to a wheelchair and can be packed in a case, allowing greater portability. Since I don't use a wheelchair at this point, toting the ARM around would be cumbersome without assistance, thus defeating the goal of independence.
FIGURE B
 
The ARM reaches to turn on a faucet. Roll over picture for a larger image.
A robot named Domo
Recently at MIT, researcher Aaron Edsinger and his colleagues revealed a humanoid robot named Domo. As seen in Figure C, Domo has twelve on-board computers.
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