Entertainment and Assistive Robot: Acceleration Controllers of an Autonomous Kids Personal Transporter (kPT)
Abstract
Entertainment robots for children that keep them occupied are indirectly assistive robots for parents and caregivers while keeping busy with other work. This paper presents an autonomous kids' personal transporter (kPT) robot with an omnidirectional obstacle sensor of limited detection range, modelled in a two-dimensional space. A set of new nonlinear time-invariant stabilizing acceleration-based controllers designed using the Lyapunov-based control scheme (LbCS), a scheme for solving motion planning control problems using artificial potential fields. The derived controllers enable the kPT robot to navigate autonomously in a partially known environment by avoiding static obstacles to reach its target, where it achieves its equilibrium state. The results were validated through computer simulation using the Wolfram Mathematica software. This theoretical exposition could become the base work for a real prototype robot, which would be significant to working parents and caregivers, especially when they have to look after the kids while simultaneously carrying out their chores.