CROWDBOT

  This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 779942.  

Title

Safe Robot Navigation in Dense Crowds

Concept

CROWDBOT will enable mobile robots to navigate autonomously and assist humans in crowded areas. Today’s robots are programmed to stop when a human, or any obstacle is too close, to avoid coming into contact while moving. This prevents robots from entering densely frequented areas and performing effectively in these high dynamic environments. CROWDBOT aims to fill in the gap in knowledge on close interactions between robots and humans during navigation tasks. The project considers three realistic scenarios: 1) a semi-autonomous wheelchair that must adapt its trajectory to unexpected movements of people in its vicinity to ensure neither its user nor the pedestrians around it are injured; 2) the commercially available Pepper robot that must navigate in a dense crowd while actively approaching people to assist them; 3) the under development robot cuyBot will adapt to compact crowd, being touched and pushed by people. These scenarios generate numerous ethical and safety concerns which this project addresses through a dedicated Ethical and Safety Advisory Board that will design guidelines for robots engaging in interaction in crowded environments.

Participants

• Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, Switzerland (Coordinator)
• École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
• Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Switzerland
• Softbank Robotics Europe, France
• University College London, United Kingdom
• Locomotec GmbH, Germany