Brief description of the organization
The Calgary Human-Robot Interaction Lab (CHRC) led by Dr. Marie Charbonneau advances knowledge on physically interactive robotics, looking at how robots can be designed, programmed and controlled to sense a human environment and appropriately engage in physical interactions with humans. Library and Cultural Resources (LCR) support academic research, teaching and community engagement at the Taylor Family Digital Library (TFDL). They curate extensive collections of both physical and digital resources, deliver expert guidance in publishing and research strategies, and provide study spaces. The two organizations are partnering to develop robots that can safely and harmoniously operate within a human space.
Problem area
LCR staff expend significant resources to returning books to the shelves and retrieving books, leading to repetitive strain injuries and limiting their capacity to cover remaining tasks. In their continued effort to support efficiency and staff wellness, LCR needs an automated book shelving and retrieval system. The overarching project aims to design and deploy a robotic library assistant capable of autonomously shelving and retrieving books within the TFDL. The problem that will be explored in this student project, is that this library robot will need to be programmed to safely navigate and maneuver between bookshelves, as well as maintain the physical safety and comfort of nearby humans.
Main objectives
Develop an autonomous physical library navigation system. This system will require:
- embedded safety mechanisms to avoid obstacles and collisions with people;
- efficient algorithms to locate target stacks for shelving and retrieval operations.
Scope of work
The project is expected to expand established simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) approaches, while devising adaptations for a physical library environment. The approach will be implemented on a mobile robot platform equipped with LiDAR, IMU and camera sensors (Clearpath Husky, which will be made available through the Waterloo RoboHub), and tested in a library environment on campus to validate autonomous navigation performance and safety in real-world operation.
Deliverables
- Report
- Presentation
- Code
Team meeting frequency
Bi-weekly
Skills and training required
- Prior training on C++ programming, robot control, mobile robotics and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)
- Knowledge of ROS2 would be helpful (can be acquired during the project if needed)
- Prior knowledge of human factors and/or human-robot interaction would also be helpful
Resources required
- The team will need access to the RoboHub, in order to work with the Husky robot.
- Robot programming is expected to rely on open-source libraries and tools.
NDA or a commercialization agreement for this project?
Yes