Gait planning for the humanoid robot is a very essential and basic requirement. The humanoid robot is balanced at two feet; therefore, special attention is required for gait analysis for the ...execution of assigned tasks. In this paper, the linear inverted pendulum (LIPM) model is considered to simplify the study and to obtain better gait planning of humanoid robot NAO. Center of mass (COM) and zero moment point (ZMP) criterion are applied with the LIPM model for a better understanding of selecting the step length and period. In addition, a PSO (particle swarm optimization) tuned PID (proportional–integral–derivative) controller has been implemented. Sensory data such as the location of obstacles and the target along with the desired trajectory aided inverse kinematics have been embedded to the conventional PID controller, which provides an interim angle to start the navigation. This interim angle has been carried forward to the PSO technique accompanied by the desired trajectory. It tunes the parameters of the conventional PID controller and provides an optimum turning angle, which avoids obstacles and increases the stabilization of the robot while crossing it. It reduces travel time and shortens travel length. PSO technique minimizes the computational complexity and number of iteration because it requires fewer tuning parameters. Simulations are executed on the simulated NAO robot for the conventional PID controller and the proposed controller. To ratify its findings, experiments are carried out on a real NAO robot in laboratory conditions for both the conventional PID controller and the proposed controller. Simulation and experimental results are presenting a good agreement among each other with deviation under 6%. Applying the PSO tuned PID controller provides a predictable gait and reduces the stabilization time and essentially eliminating the overshoot by 25%. A comparative study with various controllers is performed, and the credibility of the evaluated result has been examined using statistical analysis. The proposed controller has been compared with a previously developed technique to ensure its robustness.
•Design of hybrid controller for gait stabilization of humanoid robot using Particle swarm optimization approach with the proportional–integral–derivative controller.•Peculiar characteristics of the humanoid robot have been adopted using a linear inverted pendulum model.•Dynamic simulation of the humanoid movement integrates the ZMP principle and inverse kinematics.•Implementation of the proposed hybrid model in simulation terrain and validation of its result in real-time experiments.•Examination of introduced hybrid model against previously developed controller.
Dysgraphia is a disorder of expression with the writing of letters, words, and numbers. Dysgraphia is one of the learning disabilities attributed to the educational sector, which has a strong impact ...on the academic, motor, and emotional aspects of the individual. The purpose of this study is to identify dysgraphia in children by creating an engaging robot-mediated activity, to collect a new dataset of Latin digits written exclusively by children aged 6 to 12 years. An interactive scenario that explains and demonstrates the steps involved in handwriting digits is created using the verbal and non-verbal behaviors of the social humanoid robot Nao. Therefore, we have collected a dataset that contains 11,347 characters written by 174 participants with and without dysgraphia. And through the advent of deep learning technologies and their success in various fields, we have developed an approach based on these methods. The proposed approach was tested on the generated database. We performed a classification with a convolutional neural network (CNN) to identify dysgraphia in children. The results show that the performance of our model is promising, reaching an accuracy of 91%.
The lack of interest of children at school is one of the biggest problems that Mexican education faces. Two important factors causing this lack of interest are the predominant methodology used in ...Mexican schools and the technology as a barrier for attention. The methodology that institutions have followed has become an issue because of its very traditional approach, with the professor giving all the theoretical material to the students while they listen and memorize the contents, and, if we add the issue of the growing access to technological devices for students, children carrying a phone are more likely to be distracted. This study aims to integrate technology through assistive robots as a beneficial tool for educators, in order to improve the attention span of students by making the learning process in multiple areas of the Mexican curriculum more dynamic, therefore obtaining better results. To prove this, four different approaches were implemented; three in elementary schools and one in higher education: the LEGO
robotic kit and the NAO robot for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching, the NAO robot for physical education (PE), and the PhantomX Hexapod, respectively. Each of these technological approaches was applied by considering both control and experimental groups, in order to compare the data and provide conclusions. Finally, this study proves that the attention span is indeed improved as a result of implementing robotic platforms during the teaching process, allowing the children to become more motivated during their PE class and become more proactive and retain more information during their STEM classes.
The evolution of human-robot interaction (HRI) is now expanding its wings to aid children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in areas of socialization, communication and playful behavior through ...robot-based intervention. Herein we present our holistic, long-standing goal to contribute to the lives of children with ASD; who suffer a lifelong developmental disability. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on a case study in our pilot experiment where a child with ASD is exposed to the humanoid robot NAO in order to gauge his initial response and behavior in the presence of a robot. NAO robot is the chosen robotic agent as it is a commercially available humanoid with simpler in appearance compared to real humans, thus appears more approachable to children with ASD. The pilot procedures involve the robot executing basic, simple components of interaction through a series of 5 different modules. In this study, the principal results show that the basic HRI carried out by the robot is able to suppress the child's autistic behavior during the child-robot interaction. Also, more eye contact is observed between the child and robot compared to the child with his teacher during regular class session. Relating this to the child's IQ which falls in the moderate category, it is suggested that children with ASD in the same IQ group will be receptive to robot-based intervention even in the first interaction session. Hence, it can be concluded that the humanoid robot NAO has potential to serve as a platform to support and initiate interaction in children with ASD.
The primary conventional method for simplifying legged robots’ complex walking dynamics involves using low-dimensional models such as the linear inverted pendulum model (LIPM). This paper emphasizes ...utilizing the LIPM plus flywheel model (LIPPFM) for analysis of the complete dynamic motion of the humanoid robot. Inclining toward a more realistic case, the model is improvised to remove the COM’s height constraint (center of mass) and consider the effect of the upper body part using the mass of the pendulum. Furthermore, the double support phase is being discussed in the locomotion phase of the humanoid robot. MPC (model predictive control) approach has been used in this paper, which is tuned with the ACO (ant colony optimization) technique. The desired trajectory, joint angles, has been imparted to the MPC, which provides the robot’s joint motion. This joint motion has been further transferred to ACO, optimizing the step adjustment and providing an expected trajectory to walk over an uneven surface. The simulation has been carried out in an uneven environment based on ACO tuned MPC controller, and further, it has been validated using real-time experiments on humanoid robot NAO. The controller shows a reasonable degree of efficiency in both the real NAO and simulated NAO with a deviation under 5%. The comparative study among various controller shows that the proposed controller lowers the peak overshoot and the settling time. In comparison with the previously developed controller, the deviation in roll angle and pitch angle justifies the selection of the proposed controller.
Este artículo presenta el desarrollo de un módulo que puede desarrollar un algoritmo de construcción de mapas mediante odometría inercial y características visuales. Utiliza un módulo de ...reconocimiento de objetos basado en características locales y redes neuronales artificiales no supervisadas para conocer elementos no dinámicos en una habitación y asignarles una posición. El mapa está representado por una red neuronal donde cada neurona corresponde a una posición absoluta en la habitación. Una vez construido el mapa, basta con capturar un par de imágenes del entorno para estimar la ubicación del robot. Los experimentos se realizaron mediante simulación y utilizando un robot real. Se utilizó el entorno Webots con el robot humanoide virtual NAO para realizar las simulaciones. Al mismo tiempo, se obtuvieron resultados utilizando un robot NAO real en un escenario con diversos objetos. Los resultados muestran una buena precisión en la localización dentro de los mapas bidimensionales de + ó - (0,06, 0,1)m en simulación en contraste con el entorno natural; el mejor valor obtenido fue + ó - (0,25, 0,16)m.
This report presents the findings from our pilot study on the initial behavior of autistic children of moderately impaired intelligence when exposed to simple human-robot interaction (HRI) modules ...executed by a humanoid robot NAO. All 5 children have been specifically assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and their diagnosis is classified as autistic disorder. We hypothesize that NAO's human-like appearance, its capability to blink its eyes, speak and play music; coupled with the simplicity of the HRI modules will be able to entice the children's interest to engage in communication. Hence, this would significantly reduce the children's autistic characteristics in communication behavior compared to the usual class setting. In this study, the principal result shows that 4 out of the 5 children exhibited a decrease of autistic behavior (in communication subscale) when the robot is executing HRI modules during the single session of child-robot interaction. This promising outcome indicates that the NAO robot were able to attract the children's attention, keep each child engaged with the robot during interaction and hence give positive impact to the children's communication behavior. Relating this to the children's FSIQ, it can be deducted that autistic children with FSIQ of moderately impaired (from 40-54) are receptive to robot-based intervention. This is again showed by the lower autistic traits observed during the HRI modules compared to in-class setting. Overall, this research suggests that autistic children of moderately impaired intelligence show good response to robot-based intervention. This finding is crucial to form a solid foundation and proof on the positive utilization of the humanoid robot NAO for the children affected by autism.
(1) Background: There has been significant recent interest in the potential role of social robots (SRs) in special education. Specific Learning Disorders (SpLDs) have a high prevalence in the student ...population, and early intervention with personalized special educational programs is crucial for optimal academic achievement. (2) Methods: We designed an intense special education intervention for children in the third and fourth years of elementary school with a diagnosis of a SpLD. Following confirmation of eligibility and informed consent, the participants were prospectively and randomly allocated to two groups: (a) the SR group, for which the intervention was delivered by the humanoid robot NAO with the assistance of a special education teacher and (b) the control group, for which the intervention was delivered by the special educator. All participants underwent pre- and post-intervention evaluation for outcome measures. (3) Results: 40 children (NAO = 19, control = 21, similar baseline characteristics) were included. Pre- and post-intervention evaluation showed comparable improvements in both groups in cognition skills (decoding, phonological awareness and reading comprehension), while between-group changes favored the NAO group only for some phonological awareness exercises. In total, no significant changes were found in any of the groups regarding the emotional/behavioral secondary outcomes. (4) Conclusion: NAO was efficient as a tutor for a human-supported intervention when compared to the gold-standard intervention for elementary school students with SpLDs.
Autism is often being associated with the deficits in social communication, interaction as well as imagination. Autistic patients may experience the impairment in social interaction usually being ...related to their inability to interpret others’ emotion and even to express their own feelings. As a result, children with autism are often been labeled as lacking the ability to express their emotion. The main objective of this paper is to present a pilot study in studying the autistic children's’ emotions and feelings upon being triggered by the humanoid-robot, NAO. Kansei Engineering, which is a powerful emotion extraction mechanism is adopted in the study to assess the children's’ emotion. The experiment involved two autistic children and one normal child who were given four interaction modules in separate intervention session. The experiment conducted is to observe how robot triggers the emotion of these children. The result shows that different types of modules which would trigger different emotional reactions. This result provides a basis for further investigation of the assessment of autistic children's feeling and emotion. The result will ultimately contribute to finding best possible therapy for autistic children towards the used of humanoid-robot.
Education today faces a powerful enemy: the lack of interest from students, who, even if attending class, find themselves distracted. This enemy has been in our schools for a long time, but it has ...never been as strong as it is now. Technology has made it strong; phone-bearing children have become its ally. This investigation intends to return technology to our side as educators by proposing the use of an assistive robot, proving that it attracts the attention of students and motivates them to enjoy
Physical Education (PE)
class, where children learn how to live a healthy life, avoiding diseases and conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. To prove this, we measured the attention levels and motivation of the students in two primary school classes, one, a traditional class, and the other, a robot-assisted class. The data was analyzed from both engineering and psychological perspectives. This study concludes that the attention span of children improves, and their motivation increases as a result of using an
NAO
robot. Consequently, a robot-assisted
PE
class can decrease diabetes, obesity, and strengthen heart functions when the children learn how to live a healthy life effectively.
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