Related papers: Can Quadruped Navigation Robots be Used as Guide D…
Group interactions are essential to social functioning, yet effective engagement relies on the ability to recognize and interpret visual cues, making such engagement a significant challenge for blind people. In this paper, we investigate…
The rapid growth of virtual reality (VR) has led to increased use of social VR platforms for interaction. However, these platforms lack adequate features to support blind and low vision (BLV) users, posing significant challenges in…
Unprecedented possibilities of quadruped robots have driven much research on the technical aspects of these robots. However, the social perception and acceptability of quadruped robots so far remain poorly understood. This work investigates…
In recent years, quadruped robots have attracted significant attention due to their practical advantages in maneuverability, particularly when navigating rough terrain and climbing stairs. As these robots become more integrated into various…
Industrial warehouses are congested with moving forklifts, shelves and personnel, making robot teleoperation particularly risky and demanding for blind and low-vision (BLV) operators. Although accessible teleoperation plays a key role in…
Lacking the ability to sense ambient environments effectively, blind and visually impaired people (BVIP) face difficulty in walking outdoors, especially in urban areas. Therefore, tools for assisting BVIP are of great importance. In this…
Previous studies have successfully demonstrated agile and robust locomotion in challenging terrains for quadrupedal robots. However, the bipedal locomotion mode for quadruped robots remains unverified. This paper explores the adaptation of…
Quadruped robots are currently a widespread platform for robotics research, thanks to powerful Reinforcement Learning controllers and the availability of cheap and robust commercial platforms. However, to broaden the adoption of the…
Quadruped robots are progressively being integrated into human environments. Despite the growing locomotion capabilities of quadrupedal robots, their interaction with objects in realistic scenes is still limited. While additional robotic…
Guide dogs play a critical role in the lives of many, however training them is a time- and labor-intensive process. We are developing a method to allow an autonomous robot to physically guide humans using direct human-robot communication.…
Blind people have limited opportunities to explore an environment based on their interests. While existing navigation systems could provide them with surrounding information while navigating, they have limited scalability as they require…
Personal mobile robotic assistants are expected to find wide applications in industry and healthcare. For example, people with limited mobility can benefit from robots helping with daily tasks, or construction workers can have robots…
Animals use limbs for both locomotion and manipulation. We aim to equip quadruped robots with similar versatility. This work introduces a system that enables quadruped robots to interact with objects using their legs, inspired by…
Outdoor navigation on sidewalks in urban environments is the key technology behind important human assistive applications, such as last-mile delivery or neighborhood patrol. This paper aims to develop a quadruped robot that follows a route…
As robotic agents increasingly assist humans in reality, quadruped robots offer unique opportunities for interaction in complex scenarios due to their agile movement. However, building agents that can autonomously navigate, adapt, and…
Recent Vision-and-Language Navigation (VLN) advancements are promising, but their idealized assumptions about robot movement and control fail to reflect physically embodied deployment challenges. To bridge this gap, we introduce VLN-PE, a…
As social virtual reality (VR) grows more popular, addressing accessibility for blind and low vision (BLV) users is increasingly critical. Researchers have proposed an AI "sighted guide" to help users navigate VR and answer their questions,…
Quadruped animals are capable of exhibiting a diverse range of locomotion gaits. While progress has been made in demonstrating such gaits on robots, current methods rely on motion priors, dynamics models, or other forms of extensive manual…
Quadruped locomotion is currently a vibrant research area, which has reached a level of maturity and performance that enables some of the most advanced real-world applications with autonomous quadruped robots both in academia and industry.…
Intelligent systems are increasingly part of our everyday lives and have been integrated seamlessly to the point where it is difficult to imagine a world without them. Physical manifestations of those systems on the other hand, in the form…