SBIR Phase I:Tele-Directed Artificially Intelligent Medical Robot

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I project is to develop a novel artificial-intelligence (AI) robot-control paradigm to facilitate real-time tele-robotics and advance humankind’s robotic capability. This AI constantly interprets the intent of the operator in the context of the robot’s environment, and makes real-time adjustments to the motion of the robot to accomplish the intended task. Ultimately, this allows the operator to focus on the objective instead of operating the robot. This project will allow tele-robotics to become a viable solution in uncertain environments where traditional control schemes, with inherent latency and precision issues, currently prevent adoption of robotic solutions. This benefits applications in which a higher degree of expertise and decision-making is required to perform tasks in a dangerous or inaccessible location. The first application of this technology will allow nurses to provide patient care within hospital isolation environments to prevent exposure to the patient and care-providers. Additional applications include military, industrial maintenance, aerospace, public safety, energy, mining, and undersea solutions. Tele-robotics is a $62B market in 2019 growing by 13.5% annually.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to address the nursing crisis with an AI-enhanced robotic in patient-isolation environments. Instead of delaying care to don and doff personal-protective equipment, nurses can instantly work through the eyes, ears, and arms of these robots. The key innovation in this Phase I project is novel AI which will intuit the intent of the operator to successfully complete tasks. The proposed research will develop a robot control policy which observes the robot’s current environment as well as the users control inputs, and actuates a robot to achieve the desired task. The robot will self-correct for errors made by the user through an understanding of the desired outcomes. At the end of this Phase I project, we expect the robot to perform a demonstration of accurate and timely object manipulation while controlled by a remote operator without line of sight to the work area. In a subsequent phase, the ultimate technical objective is for the solution to be as intuitive and invaluable as a modern smartphone. The business objective, developed in partnership with healthcare systems, is to provide better isolation-patient outcomes while improving productivity and reducing health risk for nurses.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.