AI-enabled Co-learning-working Spaces: Smart Mobile Robotics for Real-life and Augmented Spaces - RMGS

Description

1.Prototype a system of self-organizing, situationally-responsive, AI-enabled robotic system for usein shared space in work and educational environments.The arrangement of work and educational spaces can help or destroy favorable work practices, as well as promote or mitigate safety practices, especially during post-pandemic return-to-work scenarios. We propose hardware using smart mobile robotics and algorithms using AI-based autonomous arrangement of robotic instruments, to explore optimal scheduling and organization of in-person work and education environments. We aim to impact effective co-working in the context of workplace safety during meetings and classes, using robotic chairs (ChairBots) that in preliminary studies have shown promise to shape human perception and behavior in real and virtual spaces [6,9]. We will also use instruments to ensure safety and encourage effecting sharing of space using path-planning systems that vary with time of day.2.Build and user-test a smart room system to encouraging sharing of co-working-learning spacesusing empirical data for optimized sharing.We will apply computer vision and pose estimation in combination with implicit signals like color-displays and mild sound and musical cues to encourage people to share work and learning spaces, minimize unsafe practices, reduce prolonged exposure, and encourage movement. Implicit cues have been shown in the psychology literature to promote and sustain healthy behaviors [1,14]. In addition, information based on timestamps of interaction from the room system can be used post-facto to enable health monitors for future safety scenarios.3.Create an interactive robotic projection system that uses 360 camera and IOT technologies todetect occupants and create augmented-reality spacing for sharing of work and learning spaces.To extend safety and distancing measures to interactable elements in a room such as a museum gallery or shared hub, we prototype a system that uses 360-degree camera attached to a robotic structure at the site of interaction to detect human presence, and generate visual mapping of spaces to facilitate effective sharing and safety. The mapping strategies include highlighting areas of the room as targets for movement, partitioning spaces for sharing, and showing warnings for extended contact time based on scientific calculations of classroom spacing protocols and creativity measures [4,17].