The document discusses the Robot-Era project which aims to develop and demonstrate advanced robotic services integrated into smart environments to provide independent living assistance for elderly people. The project involves different robots cooperating with each other and being coordinated by a configuration module. One of the services tested was a shopping delivery service where an elderly user created a shopping list using a GUI or speech and received their items delivered by a robot. Localization of users was performed using a Kalman filter fusing data from wearable sensors and presence sensors.

1. “Trends and issues in the integration between Service
Robots and Smart Environments” Workshop
Enhancing robotic services for AAL
applications by integrating robots
into smart environments
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Robot-Era Project Manager:
Filippo Cavallo
Assistant Professor
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, The BioRobotics Institute
filippo.cavallo@sssup.it

2. Outline
Robot-Era Project and objectives
General methodology and list of
services
Robotic ecology architecture
– Different agents integrated and coordinated
by a configuration and context awareness
module
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
module
Example: improving robot awareness
by means of WSN for user localization
services
– Kalman filter
(Video)
Conclusions

3. The OBJECTIVES of the Robot-Era project are to develop, implement and
demonstrate the general feasibility, S/T effectiveness and social/legal
plausibility and acceptability by end-users of a plurality of complete advanced
robotic services, integrated in intelligent environments, which will actively work
in real conditions and cooperate with real people and between them to provide
favorable independent living, improving the quality of life and the efficiency of
care for elderly people.
Robot-Era at a glance
• User- and society- centred service robotics
• Services provided by the cooperation of different
robots integrated in smart environments
• Robots as co-workers that cooperate with humans
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
(IP), FP7-ICT-2011.7
January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2015
Total Project Cost: € 8.700.000 (EC € 6.470.000)
• Robots as co-workers that cooperate with humans
• Services distributed over indoor and outdoor
environments (3D service robotics)
• Acceptability and usability
• Real environments (and not only realistic)
• Investigation and management of legal, social and
ethical issues in real environments
• Creating permanent infrastructures beyond the
end of Robot-Era project

4. Robot-Era system
development
Integration of robots in
smart environments
General Robot-Era Methodology
Needs and services
to promote the senior
independence and
wellbeing
S/T Requirements
for services
development,
acceptability and
usability
Pilot site:
More than 120 elderly involved
In Italy, Sweden and Germany
More than 70 elderly
involved in Italy and
Sweden
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Experimentation
with real elderly users in Italy
and Sweden
•Legal and Insurance Issues
•Service, Market and Business Models
•Ethics and social issues
•Standard and Certifications
•Exploitation
Pilot site:
Orebro (SE)
Pilot site:
Peccioli (IT)

5. Services Peccioli test site Örebro test site
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Communication
Indoor escort at night
Reminding
Cleaning
Objects transportation and manipulation
6) Outdoor walking support
Services and Robotic
Platforms
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
7)
8)
9)
Laundry support (only in Örebro)
Food delivery (only in Örebro)
Surveillance
10)
11)
Drug and shopping delivery
Garbage collection

6. Robot-Era architecture
High-Level Reasoning
CAM CPM WebServer
PEIS Tuple Space
commands
goal
status
commands
commands
commands
commands
status
status
status
status
sensors
context
wsndata
sensors
wsndata
commands
status
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
WSN Bridge
peistranspeisxbee Doro Coro
BS
Oro Elevator
commands
commands
commands
commands
status
status
status
status
wsndata
sensors
wsndata

7. Peccioli Pilot Site - Experimental setup:
Shopping Service
One: handycamOne: handycam One: InterviewerOne: Interviewer
One: overall supervision for OROOne: overall supervision for ORO
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the
European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899
WP8 Experiments and evaluation of realistic
and real settings- SSSA
Review Meeting - Peccoli (Pisa, Italy)
February 27-28, 2014
SubjectSubjectOne: overall supervision for DOROOne: overall supervision for DORO
One: overall supervision for COROOne: overall supervision for CORO

8. Procedure:
The elderly person had to imagine he
was sick and he could not leave his
home, but he needed several things
to eat and drinks.
Shopping and Drug delivery service
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the
European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899
WP8 Experiments and evaluation of realistic
and real settings- SSSA
Review Meeting - Peccoli (Pisa, Italy)
February 27-28, 2014
The elderly person used Robot-Era
system to create and to send a
shopping list.
The elderly person received his
grocery at home

9. Speech interaction
User talked to DORO
to call it and activate
the service
GUI
User used a GUI to
complete the shopping
list
HRI - Shopping and Drug delivery service
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the
European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899
WP8 Experiments and evaluation of realistic
and real settings- SSSA
Review Meeting - Peccoli (Pisa, Italy)
February 27-28, 2014
DORO talked to the
user for notification
giving

10. Shopping and Drug delivery service
Domestic Environment
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the
European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899
WP8 Experiments and evaluation of realistic
and real settings- SSSA
Review Meeting - Peccoli (Pisa, Italy)
February 27-28, 2014

11. Outdoor Environment
Shopping and Drug delivery service
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the
European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899
WP8 Experiments and evaluation of realistic
and real settings- SSSA
Review Meeting - Peccoli (Pisa, Italy)
February 27-28, 2014

12. Condominium
Environment
Shopping and Drug delivery service
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the
European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899
WP8 Experiments and evaluation of realistic
and real settings- SSSA
Review Meeting - Peccoli (Pisa, Italy)
February 27-28, 2014

13. Domestic Environment
Shopping and Drug delivery service
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the
European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899
WP8 Experiments and evaluation of realistic
and real settings- SSSA
Review Meeting - Peccoli (Pisa, Italy)
February 27-28, 2014

14. Wireless sensor network
Multi-hop communication tested in ÄngenLiving Lab fully sensorized
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Parameter SENSOR
Light ISL29023IROZ-T7 from ST Microelectronics
(Geneva, Swiss)
GAS (Ethanol) MiCS-5121 from e2V technologies
(Chelmsford, UK)
GAS(CO/HC/VOC) MiCS-5521 from e2V technologies
(Chelmsford, UK)
Temperature STCN75 from ST Microelectronics (Geneva,
Swiss)
Humidity HIH-530 from Honeywell (New Jersey, USA)
PIR HC-SR502 from elecfreaks (Shenzhen,
China)
Presence sensor on bed,
sofa, chairs
Recora Incorporated(Illinoise, USA)
Door sensor Custom circuit
Power supply fault alarm Custom circuit

15. Smart
Plug
Water
Presence
Sensor
Light
Sensor
Presence
Sensor
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Water
Sensor
Gas
Sensor
Door
Sensor
Movement
Sensor

16. Elevator as a PEIS Node
• A mini-PC with digital Input/Output ports controls the
elevator (cheap solution ~400eu)
• Elevator runs a TCP Server
• PEIS elevator node publishes and listens tuples and
communicates with the server
• A simple GUI is used for test and backup solution
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Elevator
Server
PEIS Node GUI
TCP connection TCP connection

17. The user localization example
User localization is performed fusing together estimated positions of
people from presence sensors and RSSI observations from
wearable nodes, using a Kalman Filter.
• LN identifies the users in an unique manner thanks to wearable
nodes and provides RSS observation to estimate its position.
• Presence sensors in the SN refines and improve localization
accuracy over rooms and particular areas of interest
ε
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
RSSId = PLd + Χσ+ εd

18. The localization algorithm
LN SN
Multiple user
localization
+
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Data
fusion
+
Host
detection

19. Advantages
Advantages:
1. Respect to state of the art - fingerprint methods [1]
No need for large calibration database and lower computational
cost
2. Respect to state-of-the-art - AmI for companion robots (2011-2013)
[2][3]
Multi user localization possibility
Privacy (no cameras needed)
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
[1] “Accurate Signal Strength Prediction based Positioning for Indoor WLAN Systems”; Anvar N.,
Yongwan P., Hoyoul J. Position, Location and Navigation Symposium, 2008 IEEE/ION ; 2008 ;
Page(s): 685 – 688
[2] Volkhardt, Michael, et al. "Playing hide and seek with a mobile companion robot." Humanoid
Robots (Humanoids), 2011 11th IEEE-RAS International Conference on. IEEE, 2011.
[3] Schroeter, Ch, et al. "Realization and User Evaluation of a Companion Robot for People with Mild
Cognitive Impairments." Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2013), Karlsruhe,
Germany, pp. 1145-1151, IEEE 2013

20. Adaptability
The environments are highly variable, many factors could change their
conditions, so the robots have to recognize these environmental
changes, modify and adapt the system behavior in accordance.
Localization errors in
micro-areas
computed as
Manhattan distance.
A micro-area is 2
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
A micro-area is 2
square meter wide.
• Robot took in mean less than 22 seconds for service delivery
• In the 76% of the trials the user was located within 2 micro-
areas respect to the current position, still in the Kinect localization
workspace.
• Kinect on robot and information on user position provided by the CAM
made the service acceptable and usable for the old persons
involved in the experimentations.

21. Video
Shopping service example
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Video

22. Conclusions
The smart environments could be important
to enhance the service robotics
performance
Usually smart environments are a cheaper
solution with respect to robots with high
complexity
Improvements are needed for:
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
Improvements are needed for:
– Interoperability
– Dependable middleware and connections
(bandwidth 4G-5G, data throughput, channel
optimization, etc.)
– Big data management / scalability
– …

23. March 14, 2013, Track 2, 8:30-12:30
- Topic Group “Robot Companion for Assisted
Living (Chair Prof. Paolo Dario)
March 14, 2013, Track 2, 8:30-12:30
ERF 2014: other sessions with
Robot-Era
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
March 14, 2013, Track 2, 8:30-12:30
- State of art from FP7 projects and their
relation to the H2020 and euRobotics topic
group (Chairs: Farshid Amirabdollahian,
Filippo Cavallo, Christophe Leroux and
Paolo Fiorini)

24. Thank you for your
attention
The Robot-Era Project has received funding from the European Community's Seventh
Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement num. 288899 - WWW.ROBOT-ERA.EU
www.robot-era.eu