02.07.2024
Designing additional functions with technical experts
In July 2023, the Fraunhofer IAO team developed initial ideas for innovative additional functions for the robots from Adlatus Robotics GmbH in participatory workshops together with citizens of Ulm. The participants selected four functional areas that the cleaning robots could take on in addition to their main task of cleaning or transportation.
Following on from this, a second series of workshops was held in May 2024. In collaboration with nine experts, the thematic priorities already identified were developed in greater depth and implementation options were discussed.
The workshops focused on the functional areas “Collecting data” and “Help in emergency situations”.
The following scenarios were developed for the “Collecting data” functional area with experts from the city of Ulm and data-related software development.
- Detecting safety-critical weather conditions: sensors on the robot record the floor condition and report this to the control center, passers-by are warned of slippery or slippery conditions, for example
- Cleaning optimization: soiling is analysed (when, where, how much, type and degree of soiling) in order to carry out cleaning in a targeted manner
The following scenarios were developed for the “First aid in emergency situations” functional area with specialists from the fire and rescue services.
- Special cleaning of the emergency site: removal of small hazardous objects (needles, broken glass) and accident waste
- Overview of the scene: robot sends a video transmission to the control center (initial assessment by the fire department), communication via the robot with those affected at the scene, recording of the situation for documentation and evaluation
Creating graphic storyboards for selected additional functions:
With the help of various science-based creative methods, the participants developed necessary hardware extensions for the robot (e.g. swivelling camera for live image transmission, lighting/blue light, sensors) and visualized the deployment scenarios for the robot.
1) Exemplary storyboard of the additional function “Overview of the scene”:
2) Example scene from the storyboard of the additional function “Overview of deployment site”
The Fraunhofer IAO team would like to thank all participants for their great support by contributing their professional perspective. This was indispensable for the design of additional functions with real added value for Ulm’s citizens and service providers. The next step will now be to implement the best additional functions as prototypes and have them evaluated by the relevant groups of people mentioned above.
