2008 Woodie Awards
UCF lends a hand with robotic arm
Jeffrey Riley
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
Researchers at the University of Central Florida are working to extend a robotic hand to people with limited mobility.
Aman Behal, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, is in charge of the project, which falls under the area of "assistive robotics," robotic systems that help people with medical conditions.
The goal of the project, which implements a robotic arm called the Manus, is to create an interface that can recognize and retrieve objects with minimal input from the user.
"It is easy for robots to go from one point to another, but what if they are not given a point?" Behal said.
The reason behind the simplification is that those who will be using the robotic arm are those lacking in mobility and dexterity. The robotic arm, which is about the size of a suitcase, is made to be mounted on a wheelchair and is specifically designed for those with limited upper-body control.
The easy-to-use system was made possible by the addition of cameras and sensors. The end product is a touch screen with two modes. The first is manual, giving the user the ability to maneuver the electronic arm in various directions. The second is automatic, allowing the user to simply push "go" to send the arm out, have it recognize a target object, then grip and retrieve it.
The system's progress has come in stages. Originally, the arm was moved by commands inputted through two small black pads. That was not very easy because anyone working on it had to constantly refer back to a long list of commands, said Dae-Jin Kim, a research associate on the project.
"We remember the codes now, but before, we had to really look at the codes all of the time for anything," Kim said.
Price will be an issue for the finalized product, so researchers are careful about what materials go into it. Brandon Gilzean, a UCF student who works on the sensors used by the arm, said he is careful not to choose items that will break the bank.
Aman Behal, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, is in charge of the project, which falls under the area of "assistive robotics," robotic systems that help people with medical conditions.
The goal of the project, which implements a robotic arm called the Manus, is to create an interface that can recognize and retrieve objects with minimal input from the user.
"It is easy for robots to go from one point to another, but what if they are not given a point?" Behal said.
The reason behind the simplification is that those who will be using the robotic arm are those lacking in mobility and dexterity. The robotic arm, which is about the size of a suitcase, is made to be mounted on a wheelchair and is specifically designed for those with limited upper-body control.
The easy-to-use system was made possible by the addition of cameras and sensors. The end product is a touch screen with two modes. The first is manual, giving the user the ability to maneuver the electronic arm in various directions. The second is automatic, allowing the user to simply push "go" to send the arm out, have it recognize a target object, then grip and retrieve it.
The system's progress has come in stages. Originally, the arm was moved by commands inputted through two small black pads. That was not very easy because anyone working on it had to constantly refer back to a long list of commands, said Dae-Jin Kim, a research associate on the project.
"We remember the codes now, but before, we had to really look at the codes all of the time for anything," Kim said.
Price will be an issue for the finalized product, so researchers are careful about what materials go into it. Brandon Gilzean, a UCF student who works on the sensors used by the arm, said he is careful not to choose items that will break the bank.