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1 – 10 of 225
Article
Publication date: 2 November 2020

Kalaipriyan Thirugnanasambandam, Raghav R.S., Jayakumar Loganathan, Ankur Dumka and Dhilipkumar V.

This paper aims to find the optimal path using directionally driven self-regulating particle swarm optimization (DDSRPSO) with high accuracy and minimal response time.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to find the optimal path using directionally driven self-regulating particle swarm optimization (DDSRPSO) with high accuracy and minimal response time.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper encompasses optimal path planning for automated wheelchair design using swarm intelligence algorithm DDSRPSO. Swarm intelligence is incorporated in optimization due to the cooperative behavior in it.

Findings

The proposed work has been evaluated in three different regions and the comparison has been made with particle swarm optimization and self-regulating particle swarm optimization and proved that the optimal path with robustness is from the proposed algorithm.

Originality/value

The performance metrics used for evaluation includes computational time, success rate and distance traveled.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1999

David Sanders and Ian Stott

This paper presents new prototype powered wheelchair systems that are easy to use and safe. The systems use simple ultrasonic sensor systems to assist users in steering their…

Abstract

This paper presents new prototype powered wheelchair systems that are easy to use and safe. The systems use simple ultrasonic sensor systems to assist users in steering their powered wheelchairs. The new systems could improve the chances of some disabled children learning that behaviour and interaction with the environment can be controlled. An overview of the benefits to be offered by an automated wheelchair is included. Some results, problems and difficulties are described along with an assessment of the current position and the way forward.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 October 2019

Georgina Lukanova and Galina Ilieva

Purpose: This paper presents a review of the current state and potential capabilities for application of robots, artificial intelligence and automated services (RAISA) in hotel…

Abstract

Purpose: This paper presents a review of the current state and potential capabilities for application of robots, artificial intelligence and automated services (RAISA) in hotel companies.

Design/methodology/approach: A two-step approach was applied in this study. First, the authors make a theoretical overview of the robots, artificial intelligence and service automation (RAISA) in hotels. Second, the authors make a detailed overview of various case studies from global hotel practice.

Findings: The application of RAISA in hotel companies is examined in connection with the impact that technology has on guest experience during each of the five stages of the guest cycle: pre-arrival, arrival, stay, departure, assessment.

Research implications: Its implications can be searched with respect to future research. It deals with topics such as how different generations (guests and employees) perceive RAISA in the hotel industry and what is the attitude of guests in different categories of hotels (luxury and economy) towards the use of RAISA. It also shows what is the attitude of different types of tourists (holiday, business, health, cultural, etc.) and what kinds of robots (androids or machines) are more appropriate for different types of hotel operations.

Practical implications: The implications are related to the improvement of operations and operational management, marketing and sales, enhancement of customer experience and service innovation, training and management.

Originality/value: This book chapter complements and expands research on the role of RAISA in the hotel industry and makes some projections about the use of technologies in the future.

Details

Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Service Automation in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-688-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 December 2019

Shalini Garg

Abstract

Details

HR Initiatives in Building Inclusive and Accessible Workplaces
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-612-4

Expert briefing
Publication date: 12 December 2017

Robotics outlook

Book part
Publication date: 23 November 2017

Rebecca Harvey, Paul Levatino and Julie Liefeld

To utilize LGBTQ affirmative theory to inform clinical work which affords queer youth with disabilities agency and authorship in their negotiations of sexuality.

Abstract

Purpose

To utilize LGBTQ affirmative theory to inform clinical work which affords queer youth with disabilities agency and authorship in their negotiations of sexuality.

Methodology/approach

The authors use a case study to explore the use of queer affirmative theory and peer consultation to guide and evaluate an ongoing clinical case of a young gay man with cerebral palsy as he negotiates his developing sexuality amid powerful messages from media, pornography, friends, and parental influence.

Findings

This paper finds that a queer affirmative therapy model which explores themes of intersectionality, and utilizes nuanced views of sexual identity, sexual behavior, and gender identity are useful to practitioners to encourage agency and authorship for queer disabled people in their negotiations of ability, sexuality, identity, and behavior.

Originality/value

This paper provides an alternative approach to nurturing queer identity by (1) creating refuge for emerging sexualities; (2) allowing for difficult dialogues where ability, sexuality, and gender can be pragmatically discussed, performed, and negotiated; (3) tolerating the discomfort of these difficult dialogues and pushing through to nurturing the unique queerness that evolves out of these conversations; and finally (4) encouraging transformation of all participants including client and practitioners. The practitioners discuss their own transformation through the co-created dialog with each other and with the client.

Details

Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Among Contemporary Youth
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-613-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2019

Lachlan Urquhart, Dominic Reedman-Flint and Natalie Leesakul

The vision of robotics in the home promises increased convenience, comfort, companionship and greater security for users. The robot industry risks causing harm to users, being…

1651

Abstract

Purpose

The vision of robotics in the home promises increased convenience, comfort, companionship and greater security for users. The robot industry risks causing harm to users, being rejected by society at large or being regulated in overly prescriptive ways if robots are not developed in a socially responsible manner. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the challenges and requirements for designing responsible domestic robots.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines definitions of robotics and the current commercial state of the art. In particular, it considers the emerging technological trends, such as smart homes, that are already embedding computational agents in the fabric of everyday life. The paper then explores the role of values in design, aligning with human computer interaction, and considers the importance of the home as a deployment setting for robots. The paper examines what responsibility in robotics means and draws lessons from past home information technologies. An exploratory pilot survey was conducted to understand user concerns about different aspects of domestic robots such as form, privacy and trust. The paper provides these findings, married with literature analysis from across technology law, computer ethics and computer science.

Findings

By drawing together both empirical observations and conceptual analysis, this paper concludes that user centric design is needed to create responsible domestic robotics in the future.

Originality/value

This multidisciplinary paper provides conceptual and empirical research from different domains to unpack the challenges of designing responsible domestic robotics. In doing this, the paper seeks to bridge the gap between the normative dimensions of how responsible robots should be built, and the practical dimensions of how people want to live with them in context.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 July 2018

Yvonne van Zaalen, Mary McDonnell, Barbara Mikołajczyk, Sandra Buttigieg, Maria del Carmen Requena and Fred Holtkamp

The purpose of this paper is to focus on ethical and judicial themes related to technology and the older adults.

3551

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on ethical and judicial themes related to technology and the older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

Different consecutive phases in technology design and allocation will be discussed from a range of perspectives.

Findings

Longevity is one of the greatest achievements of contemporary science and a result of development of social relations. Currently, various non-communicable diseases affect older adults and impose the greatest burden on global health. There is a great emphasis across Europe on caring for the older person in their own homes. Technology has a mediating role in determining the possibilities for good quality of life (QOL). The concept of assisting the older adult through the use of technology so as to access healthcare services has enormous potential. Although the potential of technology in healthcare is widely recognised, technology use can have its downsides. Professionals need to be aware of the risks, namely, those related to the privacy of the older person, which may accompany technology use.

Research limitations/implications

By 2050, there will be more people aged over 65 than there are children. This phenomenon of global ageing constitutes a massive challenge in the area of health protection.

Practical implications

Professionals need to be aware of the risks, for example, related to the privacy of the older person, that may accompany technology use.

Social implications

There is a great emphasis across Europe on caring for the older person in their own homes. Technology has a mediating role in determining the possibilities for QOL.

Originality/value

The concept of assisting the older adult through the use of technology to avail of healthcare has enormous potential. Assistive technology, social media use and augmentative and alternative communication can have a positive effect on the QOL of older people, as long as they are supported enough in use of these technologies. However, ethical and juridical considerations are at stake as well.

Details

Journal of Enabling Technologies, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-6263

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 October 2011

David Sanders, Ian Stott, Jasper Graham‐Jones, Alexander Gegov and Giles Tewkesbury

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to make powered‐wheelchair driving easier using simple expert systems to interpret joystick and ultrasonic sensor data. The expert…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to make powered‐wheelchair driving easier using simple expert systems to interpret joystick and ultrasonic sensor data. The expert systems interpret shaky joystick movement and identify potentially hazardous situations and then recommend safe courses of action.

Design/methodology/approach

The way that a human user interacts with a powered‐wheelchair is investigated. Some simple expert systems are presented that interpret hand tremor and provide joystick position signals for an ultrasonic sensor system. Results are presented from a series of timed tasks completed by users using a joystick to control a powered‐wheelchair. Effect on the efficiency of driving a powered‐wheelchair is measured using the times to drive through progressively more complicated courses. Drivers completed tests both with and without sensors and the most recently published systems are used to compare results.

Findings

The new expert systems consistently out‐performed the most recently published systems. A minor secondary result was that in simple environments, wheelchair drivers tended to perform better without any sensor system to assist them but in more complicated environments then they performed better with the sensor systems.

Research limitations/implications

The time taken for a powered‐wheelchair to move from one place to another partly depends on how a human user interacts with the powered‐wheelchair. Wheelchair driving relies heavily on visual feedback and the experience of the drivers. Although attempts were made to remove variation in skill levels by using sets of data associated with each driver and then using paired statistical tests on those sets, some variation must still be present.

Practical implications

The paper presents new systems that could allow more people to use powered‐wheelchairs and also suggests that the amount of sensor support should be varied depending on circumstances.

Originality/value

The new systems described in the paper consistently performed driving tasks more quickly than the most recently published systems.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 38 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 January 2022

Rajashekhar U., Neelappa and Harish H.M.

The natural control, feedback, stimuli and protection of these subsequent principles founded this project. Via properly conducted experiments, a multilayer computer rehabilitation…

Abstract

Purpose

The natural control, feedback, stimuli and protection of these subsequent principles founded this project. Via properly conducted experiments, a multilayer computer rehabilitation system was created that integrated natural interaction assisted by electroencephalogram (EEG), which enabled the movements in the virtual environment and real wheelchair. For blind wheelchair operator patients, this paper involved of expounding the proper methodology. For educating the value of life and independence of blind wheelchair users, outcomes have proven that virtual reality (VR) with EEG signals has that potential.

Design/methodology/approach

Individuals face numerous challenges with many disorders, particularly when multiple dysfunctions are diagnosed and especially for visually effected wheelchair users. This scenario, in reality, creates in a degree of incapacity on the part of the wheelchair user in terms of performing simple activities. Based on their specific medical needs, confined patients are treated in a modified method. Independent navigation is secured for individuals with vision and motor disabilities. There is a necessity for communication which justifies the use of VR in this navigation situation. For the effective integration of locomotion besides, it must be under natural guidance. EEG, which uses random brain impulses, has made significant progress in the field of health. The custom of an automated audio announcement system modified to have the help of VR and EEG for the training of locomotion and individualized interaction of wheelchair users with visual disability is demonstrated in this study through an experiment. Enabling the patients who were otherwise deemed incapacitated to participate in social activities, as the aim was to have efficient connections.

Findings

To protect their life straightaway and to report all these disputes, the military system should have high speed, more precise portable prototype device for nursing the soldier health, recognition of solider location and report about health sharing system to the concerned system. Field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based soldier’s health observing and position gratitude system is proposed in this paper. Reliant on heart rate which is centered on EEG signals, the soldier’s health is observed on systematic bases. By emerging Verilog hardware description language (HDL) programming language and executing on Artix-7 development FPGA board of part name XC7ACSG100t the whole work is approved in a Vivado Design Suite. Classification of different abnormalities and cloud storage of EEG along with the type of abnormalities, artifact elimination, abnormalities identification based on feature extraction, exist in the segment of suggested architecture. Irregularity circumstances are noticed through developed prototype system and alert the physically challenged (PHC) individual via an audio announcement. An actual method for eradicating motion artifacts from EEG signals that have anomalies in the PHC person’s brain has been established, and the established system is a portable device that can deliver differences in brain signal variation intensity. Primarily the EEG signals can be taken and the undesirable artifact can be detached, later structures can be mined by discrete wavelet transform these are the two stages through which artifact deletion can be completed. The anomalies in signal can be noticed and recognized by using machine learning algorithms known as multirate support vector machine classifiers when the features have been extracted using a combination of hidden Markov model (HMM) and Gaussian mixture model (GMM). Intended for capable declaration about action taken by a blind person, these result signals are protected in storage devices and conveyed to the controller. Pretending daily motion schedules allows the pretentious EEG signals to be caught. Aimed at the validation of planned system, the database can be used and continued with numerous recorded signals of EEG. The projected strategy executes better in terms of re-storing theta, delta, alpha and beta complexes of the original EEG with less alteration and a higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) value of the EEG signal, which illustrates in the quantitative analysis. The projected method used Verilog HDL and MATLAB software for both formation and authorization of results to yield improved results. Since from the achieved results, it is initiated that 32% enhancement in SNR, 14% in mean squared error (MSE) and 65% enhancement in recognition of anomalies, hence design is effectively certified and proved for standard EEG signals data sets on FPGA.

Originality/value

The proposed system can be used in military applications as it is high speed and excellent precise in terms of identification of abnormality, the developed system is portable and very precise. FPGA-based soldier’s health observing and position gratitude system is proposed in this paper. Reliant on heart rate which is centered on EEG signals the soldier health is observed in systematic bases. The proposed system is developed using Verilog HDL programming language and executing on Artix-7 development FPGA board of part name XC7ACSG100t and synthesised using in Vivado Design Suite software tool.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

1 – 10 of 225