Cagri Kilic, postdoctoral researcher in the WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, shows a rover he developed to research slippage on planetary rovers. Two other researchers are applying the same technology to improve security in retail and wholesale environments.
(WVU Photo/Matt Sunday)
For as long as robots have existed, the fear of machines displacing humans for their jobs has persisted.
But for this research project, West Virginia University Engineers are deploying robots to help workers keep their jobs saving them from potential slips, falls and workplace hazards.
Yu Gu AND Jason Grossassociate professors in Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineeringhave received $367,000 from the National Science Foundation to study ways to reduce fall risk in retail environments.
To do this, Gu and Gross will use robots to detect and detect hazards along the floor surfaces of wholesale and retail spaces.
“There is a significant problem with slips and falls in retail spaces,” said Gross, also interim chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “So we’re trying to find a way to use robots to provide situational awareness, monitor hazards and provide walking maps.”
Occupational injuries have adversely affected the majority and minority workforce with high incidence rates and injury counts, the researchers said. Grocery and drug stores are among the places with the highest rates of nonfatal injuries, they added. Each year, there are approximately 570,000 injuries among the retail and wholesale workforce.
The students working with Gu and Gross are preparing a robotic “test bed” to mimic a retail environment where the team can develop and refine their approach to how machines analyze potential risks.
One way is to equip robots with cameras, Gu said.
“Some might say, ‘Why not use security cameras already in stores to detect the risk of slipping and falling?’” Gu said. “The limitation is in appearance, which can be deceiving. It is better to not only equip a robot with a camera, but drive it on the surface to see how slippery it is. The wheels of the robot are a better estimate of the risk of slipping.”
Gu and Gross outlined three objectives of this research, done in collaboration with the University of Florida. The first is to identify and assess the holistic risks associated with the operation of robots in those work environments.
The second is the development of a new function that can add a wide range of robots to survey the inner surface of the earth while performing key functions, such as serving as a shopping guide. The data will generate real-time indoor walking maps that inform pedestrians of potential hazards.
Finally, the research team will investigate the effects of robots and gait maps on workers’ physical exposure to fall risk, cognitive workload, and psychological impacts in these locations.
Gu said this study is based on existing research run by Cagri Kilic, a postdoctoral researcher at Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources IN WVU Navigation Lab. Kilic led the research on evaluating glides on planetary rovers. He developed a way for extraplanetary rovers to use non-visual information to maneuver over treacherous terrain.
“Because of this research, we can easily estimate slippage based on the interaction of wheels and terrain,” Gu said. “We can strategically turn the wheels in certain ways to better gauge slippage while driving.”
“We have this ability, while the robot is driving, to monitor the sensors on board and compare the wheel speed to the actual speed of the robot,” Gross said. “We can infer slippage and we can put a slip meter every now and then. to calibrate it.”
The team also plans to test the robots after hours in a real retail space.
“We’ve done this with a robot traversing a specific, single area,” Gross said, “but branching out to combine that with camera data is one of the exciting aspects of the project’s research.”
-WVU-
js/08/24/22
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