WorkPartner - centaur like service robot

Abstract

WorkPartner is the prototype of a lightweight mobile service robot designed to work interactively with humans in outdoor environment. The mobility is based on a hybrid system, which combine benefits of both legged and wheeled locomotion to provide at the same time good terrain negotiating capability and large velocity range. The working tool is a two-hand human like manipulator which can be used for manipulation or handling of tools. The robot is called WorkPartner, because the goal is to make an adaptive and learning robot, which can carry different tools and work interactively with a human. The user or operator can be physically present on the same site as the robot and communicate with it by using speech and gestures, or he can use telepresence from a distance place and communicate via Internet. In each case communication takes place via a new type of user interface based on multimedia and cognition.