A Standing Support Mobility Robot for Enhancing Independence in Elderly Daily Living

2025-08-27

AI Summary

Traditional seated assistive devices for elderly toileting transfers inadequately address concurrent requirements for upright postural maintenance, reduced physical load, natural social interaction, and enhanced self-efficacy. To overcome these limitations, this study proposes Moby—a standing-type mobile assistive robot. Moby innovatively integrates passive mechanical support with active navigation capabilities, enabling dual-mode (sit-to-stand/stand-to-sit) assistance and dual-operation (manual/autonomous) control. Built on the ROS framework, it incorporates NAV2-based path planning and LiDAR-based localization, complemented by a customized safety-critical human–robot interaction system. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that Moby significantly reduces task completion time and NASA-TLX subjective workload scores, while outperforming conventional solutions in usability, safety, and support for user independence. By offering a lightweight, comfortable, and intelligent alternative, Moby establishes a novel paradigm for aging-in-place support.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Assisted, interactive, and conversational search
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Applied ML and AI for Web-based mobile applications

Abstract

This paper presents a standing support mobility robot "Moby" developed to enhance independence and safety for elderly individuals during daily activities such as toilet transfers. Unlike conventional seated mobility aids, the robot maintains users in an upright posture, reducing physical strain, supporting natural social interaction at eye level, and fostering a greater sense of self-efficacy. Moby offers a novel alternative by functioning both passively and with mobility support, enabling users to perform daily tasks more independently. Its main advantages include ease of use, lightweight design, comfort, versatility, and effective sit-to-stand assistance. The robot leverages the Robot Operating System (ROS) for seamless control, featuring manual and autonomous operation modes. A custom control system enables safe and intuitive interaction, while the integration with NAV2 and LiDAR allows for robust navigation capabilities. This paper reviews existing mobility solutions and compares them to Moby, details the robot's design, and presents objective and subjective experimental results using the NASA-TLX method and time comparisons to other methods to validate our design criteria and demonstrate the advantages of our contribution.

Problem

• Develops a robot for elderly independence in daily activities
• Maintains upright posture to reduce strain and aid interaction
• Provides both passive support and active mobility assistance

Innovation

• Upright posture robot for elderly independence
• ROS-based control with manual autonomous modes
• LiDAR NAV2 integration for robust navigation