Collision avoidance control with dynamical potential method for meal-assist robot*

This paper proposes a novel collision avoidance method for meal-assist robot with a 3D range camera under a dynamic environment. In this system, the potential map using diffusion equation is employed to control the behavior of the manipulator to avoid collision between the manipulator and dishes or user. The potential map is built and updated to respond to changes in the environment observed with the 3D range camera. At the end of the paper, the efficiency and availability of this method are shown through simulations and experiments.