2. OBJECTIVES
One of the objectives of the technological advance of
last years has been the development of devices that
are alike and behave like human beings.
Karel Kapek had the idea of making up a robot. Its
name came from Czech "robota“ and means slave in
1921 .
The design of devices and especially of robots to help
disabled people begins to be effective at the end of
last century. Other
prototypes such as
new
wheelchairs are made up to help disabled people
move themselves.
3. Here we are some examples of robotic wheelchairs:
:
4. WHEELCHAIRS
are one of the most commonly used
assistive devices for mobility, and they
provide people with mobility within their
homes
and
communities.
While
wheelchairs were once a symbol of
inability and stigmatizing, they have
evolved to be highly mobile forms of selfexpression that are often fitted to each
individual user.
5. WITH THE HELP OF A REMOTE HUMAN
ASSISTANT
a person with disability pilots a robotic
mobility and manipulation system and
opens a refrigerator door to retrieve a preprepared meal from home. Cooperative
control leaves the person with disability in
command, and the ability to use the
capabilities of both the local pilot and
remote human assistant enable safe,
effective, and efficient operation of the
robotic system in natural environments.
6.
7. Motorized beds
The control of the movements of motorized beds
allow the user to change different positions when
he/she reads, watches TV, sleeps, etc.
8. Derricks
There are derricks, travelling cranes with wheels
and derricks that circulate along rails, located on
the ceilings or on the walls. The derricks allow
people to move themselves and they are placed in
different zones of a house (for example on the
beds, in the shower, in the bath, which make
disabled people raise or lay on their bed, to have
a shower, and to go to their bathroom…
9. Elevators and lifts (chairs and
platforms)
Elevators or lifts with a chair and a platform
allow the user to save obstacles as going
upstairs or downstairs
10. Faucets, soap-dishes and hand
dryers
Faucets, soap-dishes and hand dryers can be
controlled, placing ones’ hands under them,
because there is a sensor, which makes the
water of the faucet fall, use a dose of liquid
soap, or activate a hand dryer.
