Robots for Humanity: Using Assistive Robots to Empower People with
  Disabilities
From: ScholarsArchive@OSU

Assistive mobile manipulators have the potential to one day serve as
surrogates and helpers for people with disabilities, giving them the freedom
to perform tasks such as scratching an itch, picking up a cup, or socializing
with their families. This article introduces a collaborative project with the
goal of putting assistive mobile manipulators into real homes to work with
people with disabilities. Through a participatory design process in which
users have been actively involved from day one, we are identifying and
developing assistive capabilities for the PR2 robot. Our approach is to
develop a diverse suite of open source software tools that blend the
capabilities of the user and the robot. Within this article, we introduce the
project, describe our progress, and discuss lessons we have learned.

Read the entire journal article at:
http://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/~smartw/library/papers/2013/ram2013.pdf