RoboRaise reads signals to co-operate with humans

The advance from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) could lead to robot-human interaction in manufacturing and construction settings.

CSAIL’s RoboRaise involves placing electromyography (EMG) sensors on a human’s biceps and triceps to monitor muscle activity. Its algorithms then continuously detect changes to the person’s arm level, as well as discrete up-and-down hand gestures the user might make for finer motor control.

The team used the system for a series of tasks involving picking up and assembling mock airplane components. In experiments, users worked on these tasks with the robot and were able to control it to within a few inches of the desired heights by lifting and then tensing their arm. It was more accurate when gestures were used, and the robot is said to have responded correctly to roughly 70 per cent of all gestures.

“Our approach to lifting objects with a robot aims to be intuitive and similar to how you might lift something with another person - roughly copying each other's motions while inferring helpful adjustments,” said graduate student Joseph DelPreto, lead author on a new paper about the project with MIT Professor and CSAIL director Daniela Rus. “The key insight is to use nonverbal cues that encode instructions for how to coordinate, for example to lift a little higher or lower. Using muscle signals to communicate almost makes the robot an extension of yourself that you can fluidly control.”