Toward a Mobile Manipulator Service Robot for Human Assistance

Abstract

This paper describes the ongoing development of a manipulator-equipped service robot for assistance tasks. Various requirements characterizing service robots are discussed, including mechanical configuration, safety, cost, user interface, suitability for integration in household environments and interaction with other devices. Next, design decisions related to a prototype under development are illustrated and a new control architecture is discussed. Results related to the control architecture for the mobile base are reported and compared with those of the original architecture supplied with the robot.