Difference between revisions of "LURCH - The autonomous wheelchair"

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[[Image:LURCH wheelchair.jpg|thumb|right|300px|LURCH in DEI exploration]]
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{{Project
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L.U.R.C.H. is the acronym of "Let Unleashed Robots Crawl the House".
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|title=LURCH - the autonomous wheelchair
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|image=LURCH wheelchair.jpg
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|short_descr=Augmenting commercial electric wheelchairs with autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, and multi-modal interfaces
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|coordinator=MatteoMatteucci
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|tutor=SimoneCeriani;
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|collaborator=GiulioFontana;AndreaBonarini
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|students=DiegoConsolaro;LucaCalabrese
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|resarea=Robotics
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|restopic=Robot development
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|start=2007/02/01
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|end=2015/12/31
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|status=Closed
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}}
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<!--[[Image:LURCH wheelchair.jpg|thumb|right|300px|LURCH in DEI exploration]]-->
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__TOC__
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L.U.R.C.H. is the acronym of "Let Unleashed Robots Crawl the House" and beside the intentional reminder to the Addam's family character it is the autonomous wheelchair developed at the AIRLab. Its name for "official" settings is RBWC (RoBy WheelChair).
  
 
LURCH is an extended version of an commercial electric wheelchair (Rabbit by OttoBock) equipped with:
 
LURCH is an extended version of an commercial electric wheelchair (Rabbit by OttoBock) equipped with:
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Main goals of the LURCH project are:
 
Main goals of the LURCH project are:
 
# Add sensors and robotic functionalities to the powered wheelchair.
 
# Add sensors and robotic functionalities to the powered wheelchair.
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# Add various command interfaces, such as Joypad wireless, speech command, [[Brain-Computer Interface|brain-computer interface]].
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# Add various command interfaces, such as Joypad wireless, speech command, [[HeadsetControlForWheelChair | facial muscle control]], [[Brain-Computer Interface|brain-computer interface]].
 
# Semi-autonomous navigation with collision and obstacle avoidance.
 
# Semi-autonomous navigation with collision and obstacle avoidance.
 
# Autonomous navigation by path planning and localization.
 
# Autonomous navigation by path planning and localization.
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# Path planning and basic autonomous navigation.
 
# Path planning and basic autonomous navigation.
 
# [[Brain-Computer Interface|Brain-computer interface]] driving system  
 
# [[Brain-Computer Interface|Brain-computer interface]] driving system  
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'''NOTE: AIRWiki users can find operative information to use the Lurch robot in the Discussion tab associated to this page.'''
  
 
==Media Coverage==
 
==Media Coverage==
 
Lurch project appeared in many national and international media. You can see the related articles and videos in the [[MediaCoverage]] page.
 
Lurch project appeared in many national and international media. You can see the related articles and videos in the [[MediaCoverage]] page.
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==Available Documentation==
 
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- Documentation on the interface circuit between the wheelchair joystick and computer: [[Media:LurchCircuitDocument.pdf]].
 
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- '''WARNING''': the circuit was modified and the documentation above is upgraded by this new file: [[Media:LurchXBee.pdf]].
 
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- How to modify the wheelchair joystick to connect to the interface circuit: [[Media:LurchCircuitJoystick.pdf]].
 
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- Brief discussion about the interface circuit between the wheelchair joystick and computer: [[Media:LurchCircuitJoystickBrief.pdf]].
 
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- Brief description of the LURCH project: [[Media:LurchBriefDesc.pdf]].
 
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- Brief description of the communication between the wheelchair interface circuit and a PC via RS232 port: [[Media:LurchProtocol.pdf]].
 
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- Source code for PIC 18F452 microprocessor and Eagle project (schematic and board): [[Media:LurchCircuitProject.zip]].
 
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- Battery replacement done on May 2009, description of work: [[Media:LurchBatteryReplacement.pdf]].
 
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- Thesis by Simone Ceriani, titled ''Sviluppo di una carrozzina autonoma d'ausilio ai disabili motori'' (Development of an autonomous wheelchair to help motor-disabled persons): [[Media:LurchThesisCeriani.pdf]] (in Italian)
 
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- Thesis presentation by Simone Ceriani (note: Videos don't work, you can found similar videos below): [[Media:LurchPresentazioneThesisCeriani.zip]]
 
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- Thesis by Marco Dalli, titled ''Sviluppo di un sistema di controllo basato su odometria per una carrozzina robotica'' (Development of a control system based on odometry for a robotic wheelchair): [[Media:LurchThesisDalli.pdf]] (in Italian)
 
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- Thesis presentation by Marco Dalli: [[Media:LurchPresentazioneThesisDalli.zip]]
 
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- Pdf with ArtoolKitPlus Fiducial Markers collection. Dimension are 160x160mm. [[Media:ArtoolKitPlusMarkers-160mm.pdf.zip]]
 
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==PCBricks Configuration==
 
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PCBrick-03 and PCBrick-05 feature Xubuntu Linux 7.10, Xfce Window Manager, Openchrome graphics drivers and eGalax touchscreen drivers v1.08.1227 (Drivers [http://210.64.17.162/web20/TouchKitDriver/linuxDriver.htm here]).
 
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The touchscreen is configured and calibrated on both machines, hence it can be used with either one or the other indifferently.
 
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==Electronics development==
 
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A universal interface to connect various models of joysticks to the wheelchair onboard systems is currently under design. The interface should be programmable in order to accept absolute or differential analog voltage inputs and generate a coherent output, while transferring the values read to the PC via serial port.
 
  
 
==LURCH YouTube Videos==
 
==LURCH YouTube Videos==
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*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlhePZbRxZA External link]
 
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlhePZbRxZA External link]
  
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=Software Installation=
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= Restyling =
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Lurch has been restyled in June 2010, see [[LURCH_Restyling|here]] the upgrades...
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=People Involved=
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[[User:AndreaBonarini|Andrea Bonarini]]
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[[User:MatteoMatteucci|Matteo Matteucci]]
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[[User:DavideMigliore|Davide Migliore]]
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[[User:GiulioFontana|Giulio Fontana]]
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[[User:BernardoDalSeno|Bernardo Dal Seno]]
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[[User:MarcoDalli|Marco Dalli]] (Tesista)
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[[User:SimoneCeriani|Simone Ceriani]] (Assegnista di ricerca)
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[[User:MatteoRossi|Matteo Rossi]] (Tesista)
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== New Board for Joystick Hack! ==
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[[user:DiegoConsolaro|Diego Consolaro]] during his thesis time has written [[Media:LurchMontaggioSchede.pdf | a paper]] (in Italian) to assembly the new modular board that he has developed.
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Also during the thesis,many kind of joystick of commercial wheelchair were analyzed; the results of this analysis are summarized in his [[Media:LurchThesisConsolaro.zip |thesis]] (in Italian).
  
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[[User:MarcoAssini|Marco Assini]] (Tesista)
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In the  [[Media:ManualeUtente.pdf|user manual]] (in Italian) is written the commands for the normal use of the board system.
  
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=== Laboratory work and risk analysis ===
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Laboratory work and risk analysis  
  
 
Laboratory work for this project is mainly performed at AIRLab/Lambrate. It includes some mechanical work and electrical and electronic activity. Potentially risky activities are the following:
 
Laboratory work for this project is mainly performed at AIRLab/Lambrate. It includes some mechanical work and electrical and electronic activity. Potentially risky activities are the following:

Latest revision as of 16:38, 28 February 2017

LURCH - the autonomous wheelchair
Image of the project LURCH - The autonomous wheelchair
Short Description: Augmenting commercial electric wheelchairs with autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, and multi-modal interfaces
Coordinator: MatteoMatteucci (matteo.matteucci@polimi.it)
Tutor: SimoneCeriani (ceriani@elet.polimi.it)
Collaborator: GiulioFontana (giulio.fontana@polimi.it), AndreaBonarini (andrea.bonarini@polimi.it)
Students: DiegoConsolaro (diego.consolaro@mail.polimi.it), LucaCalabrese (luca.calabrese@mail.polimi.it)
Research Area: Robotics
Research Topic: Robot development
Start: 2007/02/01
End: 2015/12/31
Status: Closed

L.U.R.C.H. is the acronym of "Let Unleashed Robots Crawl the House" and beside the intentional reminder to the Addam's family character it is the autonomous wheelchair developed at the AIRLab. Its name for "official" settings is RBWC (RoBy WheelChair).

LURCH is an extended version of an commercial electric wheelchair (Rabbit by OttoBock) equipped with:

  1. An interface circuit for digital drive via a radio serial link (XBee modules)
  2. Two on-board computers (PCBricks), powered by wheelchair batteries
  3. A 7-inch touchscreen monitor (Xenarc 700TSV), 800x480 resolution (16:10 AR)
  4. Two laser scanners Hokuyo URG 04LX
  5. A colour camera FireI400 (resolution 640×480)
  6. An odometry system based on encoders applied to the rear wheels

Main goals of the LURCH project are:

  1. Add sensors and robotic functionalities to the powered wheelchair.
  2. Add various command interfaces, such as Joypad wireless, speech command, facial muscle control, brain-computer interface.
  3. Semi-autonomous navigation with collision and obstacle avoidance.
  4. Autonomous navigation by path planning and localization.

Functions currently provided by LURCH:

  1. Driving by the original joystick or a Logitech RumblePad2 wireless joypad.
  2. Obstacle sensing using planar scanner lasers.
  3. Basic collision and obstacle avoidance behaviours.
  4. Indoor localization by a fiducial marker system
  5. Path planning and basic autonomous navigation.
  6. Brain-computer interface driving system

NOTE: AIRWiki users can find operative information to use the Lurch robot in the Discussion tab associated to this page.

Media Coverage

Lurch project appeared in many national and international media. You can see the related articles and videos in the MediaCoverage page.

LURCH YouTube Videos

Restyling

Lurch has been restyled in June 2010, see here the upgrades...

New Board for Joystick Hack!

Diego Consolaro during his thesis time has written a paper (in Italian) to assembly the new modular board that he has developed.

Also during the thesis,many kind of joystick of commercial wheelchair were analyzed; the results of this analysis are summarized in his thesis (in Italian).

In the user manual (in Italian) is written the commands for the normal use of the board system. 

Laboratory work and risk analysis

Laboratory work for this project is mainly performed at AIRLab/Lambrate. It includes some mechanical work and electrical and electronic activity. Potentially risky activities are the following:

  • Use of mechanical tools. Standard safety measures described in Safety norms will be followed.
  • Use of soldering iron. Standard safety measures described in Safety norms will be followed.
  • Transportation of heavy loads (e.g. robots). Standard safety measures described in Safety norms will be followed.
  • Robot testing. Standard safety measures described in Safety norms will be followed.
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