Towards an Intelligent Service Robot System

Abstract

A theoretical and software framework is presented to facilitate the implementation of complex robotic tasks. Essential features of the framework are discussed, along with the actual implementation. To demonstrate the use of the framework, a controller for visually-guided door opening is implemented. This controller shows how a modular system can easily be designed and implemented using our framework. A discussion is also given, comparing this framework with other similar proposals. 1 Introduction The motivation for pursuing research in the area of intelligent service robots is many-fold. Intelligent service robots have a wide variety of potential applications, both at present and in the future. Obvious uses for autonomous robots are help for elderly and/or handicapped people, everyday chores like cleaning the oors, and fetching items (called fetch andcarry tasks). It is of key importance that these systems are easy to use and are safe. Installation should not require that an engi...