Technology requirements for advanced service robots

The first generation of service robots has now reached the application stage with the advent of commercially avialable systems for cleaning floors and transporting items within in-door environments. Building on these first applications, the next generation of service robots will need manipulation in order to significantly enhance their range of applications. Manipulation of everyday objects requires the following capabilities: object identification, localization, grasping, and obstacle avoidance (for the robot arm). In this paper, we briefly describe alternative implementation strategies for these capabilities. Each approach is rated with respect to its desirability, the state of the research in the area, and the current intensity of research. (orig.)Special print from Bolles, R.C.; Bunke, H.; Noltemeier, H. (eds.): Intelligent robots. Sensing, modeling and planing. Series in Machine Perception and Artificial Intelligence, v. 27, p. 439-448 (1997)Available from TIB Hannover: DtF QN1(63,43) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman