Assistive Navigation Control Architecture

An advanced class of robots and intelligent machines that adapt, extend, and work in a symbiotic way with humans, is required and is under research in University and Industry laboratories. These robots do not only work for humans, but also they work with or assist humans, and share with the users the same environment. This paper presents an hybrid control architecture with reactive, deliberative, and cognitive components appropriate to human-oriented mobile robots. The architecture is under development and has been tested in a motorized wheechair equipped with several sensors and a multimodal HMI (Human-Machine Interface). A joystick and a voice unit interface (VUI) are used to steer the wheelchair, giving accessibility to handicaped persons. Key-Words: Assistive navigation, control architectures, human-oriented robotics, reactive behaviours, kinematics