Human-Robot Interaction for Material Handling

Autonomous robots are being developed for application ranging from lawn mowing to healthcare. We are developing an intelligent Material Handling (iMH) system that will consist of a fleet of autonomous forklifts that will operate in a warehouse. The robots use sensors to move between locations, communicate with one another, and communicate with people in a warehouse environment to efficiently store and retrieve items. The demonstration is planned for a 20’x20’ area that contains obstacles such as large boxes that represent pallets, shelving, etc. in a warehouse environment. The autonomous mobile robots (20”x20”x30”) will maneuver among specified destinations with the defined area. Visitors will be able interact with the demonstration by providing command gestures or selecting a destination on an interactive display that will command the robot to navigate to the destination. As the robot travels, a display will show what the robot sees including an image of the area from the robot’s LiDAR sensor that is used for navigation as well as a camera image with object identification that can label objects such as boxes, people, etc. in the field of the robot’s “vision”. In addition, the robot will have a voice to signal that it has received the destination command; it has reached the destination; is ready for another command, etc. In addition, we plan to display a stationary robot equipped with a monitor/screen that displays a virtual avatar. Visitors will be able to interact with the robot's intent communication system that is being designed as a means of human-robot communication/interaction for effective and efficient movement.