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View Full Version : Segway-HT is an IAD (Intelligent Assist Device)




ftropea
09-19-2002, 04:32 PM
This is a snippet of something I once posted over at TIQ. I'm putting it here because I know there are a couple of forum members into this type of research and I wanted to drop the idea into their heads. Have you ever considered this:

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I've come to the conclusion that Ginger is basically a robot. However, I'm not talking about "robots" in any traditional sense. In order to further explain, let us look at a new class of devices called Intelligent Assist Devices, or IADs. IADs are primarily used in the auto/manufacturing industries, providing powered mechanical "assistance" to an operator in order to accomplish semiautomatic and automatic tasks. These IADs are very responsive to user input and become an extension of the user's body. They "sense" the intentions of the human operators and then process and initiate controlled movements in the desired direction. (http://www.comoco-inc.com/iad.htm)

Human Motion --> Machine Senses --> Machine Processes --> Machine Actuates

And while all this is going on, the machine takes into account other information absorbed by its sensors.
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And recently, I found this article (9/1/02) which touches on the fact that Segway-HT is a type of IAD, and also discusses the significance of IADs in our world:

"IADs leverage the recent quantum leaps in microprocessor, sensor and control technologies, says supplier Paul Decker, president, Cobotics Inc., Evanston, Ill. Decker equates the control challenges of designing IADs with those of developing the fly- and drive-by-wire concepts and the Segway two-wheel personal transport device. "All those applications awaited low-cost compute power."

...

"Holland predicts that "we will see the day when there's more of these programmable tooling kind of robots than all of the traditional robots that exist in the world today. It is an enormous sea change that is coming, and it has a lot of potential because it greatly increases fixturing flexibility -- an advantage that wasn't possible before." Eventually, Holland predicts, "GM will source these kinds of devices from mainstream companies much like we buy conventional robot systems.""

http://www.industryweek.com/CurrentArticles/Asp/articles.asp?ArticleId=1313


Something for you to think about :)

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea




Seeker
09-19-2002, 06:25 PM
Hi Frank,

I think this is a very interesting concept, this notion of :

Human Motion --> Machine Senses --> Machine Processes --> Machine Actuates

in relation to the Segway.

I see the possibility that Segways can filter through control data, and identify certain types of movement, as being like a fingerprint.In the terms of criminal science, we could think of these patterns of movement as being like ... a certain set of characteristic behaviours that criminal x does, when he's about to perform crime y.

One thing I'm wondering though...

How much extra processing power, would a Segway have, to process stuff which is, over and above the task at hand ( keeping you balanced) ?

Seeker

Seeker
09-21-2002, 12:56 PM
Here's a few things I've been wondering about, relating to the Segway :

Could the Segway, or applications spawned by it, be used to help people learn to do certain sports, or possibly to perform certain tasks, more effectively ?

Let's say the platform was modified somehow so that rather than being horizontal, it could be made to be sloped, and the angle could be changed while you were on it. If you were trying to learn how to ski, you could be standing on this platform, and it could first register your present pattern of leaning, in response to the movement of the platform. Then possibly you could receive some sort of print out which showed how to improve what you were doing : maybe by better posturing, or building up certain muscle groups.


Another possible application might be for people who were in rehabitation physiotherapy, after an accident. Maybe these people could walk across a DS platform, and then receive specific feedback which might tell them which muscle groups to work on.

Or maybe there could be a way to have electrodes hooked up to you, which would automatically fire the appropriate muscle groups for you, to enable you to walk better, or in the case of the skiing scenario, to enable you to learn to ski better. So, in effect this DS application would be one of using the technology to train you, or your muscles, to do a task more effectively.

Could this work somehow ?

Seeker

Podkletnov
09-22-2002, 12:53 AM
This idea of Segway being a kind of robot is interesting. I can see one "fun" application.

You could put an actual robot (the kind we think of, with arms and visual sensors) on top of the Segway to create a really really cool "DS Battle-bot" sport. Essentially, the DS part would act as the feet, eliminating the "walking robot" and fix the upper body on top of the DS system. The object of the sport? To knock the other robot over. The battling would be done with the robot arms instead of the "ramming" of the current battlebots. It would look more like gladiator fighting or boxing. Cuz the current batlebots is basically a remote-contolled vehicular demolition derby.

ftropea
09-22-2002, 02:53 PM
Seeker: Interesting concept! If I understand what you're saying, the tech could be designed in such a way that it acts as a "trainer" - moving or keeping your body in proper position during a sport. For example, let's say you're trying to perfect a golf swing.. Some IAD device could be fitted on your body (arms/legs/hips) that help guide you through the perfect swing. Also, it amplifies your strength so you get results! All the while, your "muscle memory" is learning the proper form so if you do it enough times, you should have a better swing without the equipment.

Another thought... the IAD could provide resistance, rather than amplify your strength, so that the whole training process also become a workout on those muscles. Cool.

Another point about IADs...

This tech allows you to use motion control. You can define "virtual border" where the machine won't move into. Imagine this applied to the Segway-HT in an amusement park, for example. Disney could designate "lanes" where they want Segway-HTs to operate.. The Segway's are programmed to operate withing those lanes and won't move out of them. This would help prevent collision with oncoming Segway-HT traffic.. and perhaps keep things in order.

In the auto-industry, they use motion control to prevent you from moving an IAD mechanical arm out of the work area - accidenly taking a swing at your supervisor behind you. The arm "knows" its operating area and will stay inside it.

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea

Seeker
09-22-2002, 05:02 PM
Hi Frank,

I think what you've written reflects well the ideas I was thinking of, and you've taken things a few steps further as well. Given the number of people obsessed with obtaining a 'perfect swing' in golf, I bet there would be a market for that type of thing, if you could get it to work ! Like you said, muscle memory would come into play. There may be some way of showing people, using computerized imaging, that their non assisted swing, was becoming closer and closer to the ideal swing, thus illustrating that learning/improvement was taking place.

In a way something similar is already in use, in the form of certain video games, that kids play in arcades. These are the ones where kids do dance steps on a platform, as they attempt to copy the steps shown on a screen. I'm willing to bet that as kids continue to play this game, they eventually become better at doing the steps, without the aid of the machine.

Seeker

ftropea
09-27-2002, 12:28 PM
It's all about feedback and control loops. The technology required to make this all work just didn't seem feasible 5 - 10 years ago. Sure, the processors were available, however they were costly. Now those same processors can be produced for a tiny fraction of the price. Computer chips are becoming potato chips. It's just getting cheaper everyday. With low cost comes practicality... and all of a sudden, it just starts to make sense.

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea