Towards the Quantification of Robot-inclusiveness of a Space and the Implications on Robot Complexity

Every year many advanced robots are being introduced into manufacturing environments by a large number of robot manufacturers and integrators. Yet there are not many domestic robot manufacturers, and not many domestic robots introduced into the home spaces. Despite high technological advancement in various aspects related to robot performance, such as in sensing, navigation, and artificial intelligence, still there has been no commercially available multitasking domestic robot that can cater for the needs of the elderly or impaired. The main problem to address may not be the lack of adequate advanced technology but may instead be the complexity and dynamic nature of the home spaces. This has led to a new concept called robot-inclusive space (RIS). This paper introduces a new framework to quantify robot inclusiveness in home spaces, and to relate this to required robot complexity. We compare two commercially available robots with the proposed MARIS-II robot that is being developed in the Robotic Systems Laboratory at the University of Malta.