A robot that identifies doors from their handles
From: ECN - 08/16/2010

A robot has been recently provided with the capacity to see doors and they
are now working on improving this skill. Ms Elena Lazkano, member of the
team, provided details about the robot, called Tartalo: "The robot does not
have hands but, when it approaches the door slowly, it knocks on the door and
asks in Basque: 'Atea ireki, mesedez' — 'open the door, please'. And it waits
to see if someone opens the door". For the robot to be able to fulfil this
function, they have incorporated a programme that identifies door handles,
and a number of difficulties have arisen: "The door handles can have very
different shapes. So, what is needed is a generalised system and not one that
identifies just one specific handle". They were able to verify that the
system developed was "quite solid". In fact, the Computer Sciences Faculty
itself has been revamped recently, including door handles, and trials with
them have proved positive. 

The NOA wheelchair can ascend steps. For the system to function efficiently,
the wheelchair has to be placed at an almost perfectly perpendicular angle to
the footpath. To facilitate this requirement, the research team added sensors
to the wheels. The disabled person approaches the sidewalk and, when she or
he is ready, pushes a button. The wheelchair, being electric and with the
sensors that we have fitted, mounts the sidewalk. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.ecnmag.com/News/2010/08/A-robot-that-identifies-doors-from-their-handles/

Links:
Elena Lazkano
http://www.sc.ehu.es/ccwrobot/members/elena/elena.html

Tartalo
http://www.basqueresearch.com/berria_irakurri.asp?Berri_Kod=1791&hizk=I

NOA wheelchair
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2007/10/noa_wheelchair.html

Tekniker
http://www.tekniker.es/index.php?idioma=en

Basilio Sierra
http://www.sc.ehu.es/ccwrobot/members/basi/basi.html

Basque Research
http://www.basqueresearch.com/index.asp?hizk=I

University of the Basque Country
http://www.relaciones-internacionales.ehu.es/p274-home/en/

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A Robot That Identifies Doors From Their Handles
From: Basque Research - 08/16/2010
By: Prentsa Bulegoa

A multi-disciplinary research team at the University of the Basque Country's
(UPV/EHU's) Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group are developing intelligent,
semi-aware cognitive robots. "The robot has to be aware of what it is doing
and, more and more, be capable of improving its behavior, its learning," says
UPV/EHU's Basilio Sierra. For example, the team has developed Tartalo, an
intelligent robot that can differentiate doors from their handles. "The robot
does not have hands but, when it approaches the door slowly, it knocks on the
door and asks" for someone to open it, says UPV/EHU's Elena Lazkano. She
notes that Tartalo features software that enables it to identify door
handles, which is challenging because they can have many different shapes.
Sierra says the researchers are focusing on applications for disabled and
elderly people. "The end goal would be to buy yourself a robot [that is]
capable of getting around by itself, seeing rooms and being aware of what the
dwelling is like, being capable of moving about the house by itself, and
helping to do household chores," he says. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.basqueresearch.com/berria_irakurri.asp?Berri_Kod=2905&hizk=I