We strive to keep the end users of AuBi as safe as possible. That’s why we have created a list of the potential risks associated with the use of the robot. Before operating the robot, please familiarize yourself with the risks and the detailed mitigation strategies and processes outlined below. As always, call your local safety officials in the event of an emergency or contact the AuBi design team for non emergency questions or concerns.
Food Safety
Food safety is critical, especially in a nursing home setting where the elderly are more prone to getting food poisoning. CDC and FDA standards for food delivery will be closely followed in order to ensure the safety of all recipients of deliveries. Important things to consider are allergies, special dietary restrictions, cross contamination, temperature regulation, and delivery time.
For restaurant deliveries, the CDC recommends eating your food within 2 hours of it being prepared or 1 hour if it is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside. We expect to keep delivery times well below an hour since AuBi is contained within a small hallway setting. Documents make no mention of temperature regulation during delivery. Temperature regulation appears to just be a courtesy measure for deliveries that may take extended amounts of time.
Compartments in the robot will be designed in order to avoid contamination with many prevalent allergens. One box will be dedicated to patients with severe food allergies. This container will be cleaned after every use. A general compartment will be sanitized and wiped down at the end of every meal period.
https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/food-safety-meal-kits.html
FDA Food Safety Booklet – Older Adults_WEB
Person and Obstacle Avoidance
Person and obstacle avoidance is key in keeping individuals as well as the robot itself safe. To ensure that AuBi does not intentionally hit the people around it, sensors will be used to determine if a person is within a meter radius. The robot will then stop if a person is detected. Only once the person has passed outside of the defined range will the robot begin roaming again. Sensors will also be used to determine inanimate objects so that the robot can avoid them. With these design requirements, AuBi should not intentionally hit any people or objects.
Once the UI of the robot is complete, a list of procedure will be posted to follow in the event that the robot is hit by an object or person. Based on our detailed tip/slip calculations, the robot should never tip from a person or object accidentally hitting it. Only intentional actions with intent of causing the robot to tip will result in the robot tipping over.
Some obstacles may be too small to be detected by the sensors on the robot. If this happens, please come within a few feet of the robot, causing it to stop, and remove the obstacle. If the obstacle poses a danger to any individual or the robot, hit the emergency stop button and ask an authorized individual to remove the obstacle.
It should also be noted that the max speed of the robot is limited to 3 km/hr (0.833 m/s). This low speed should limit any damage done in the case of collisions.
Delivery Issues
There are a few scenarios that may lead to delivery issues. While we plan to carefully optimize our algorithms to have high success rates, errors can still occur. AuBi could choose the wrong room to deliver to, misidentify the recipient and deny access, or deliver the wrong item. Inaccurate delivery can pose serious safety concerns. Never accept an item that was not intended for you. In the event that AuBi misidentifies you and will not allow you to receive your delivery, please notify an administrator. Help AuBi improve by giving feedback on the touchscreen in the event of a delivery failure.
Fire Safety
AuBi should never be an obstacle in the event of an emergency. For this reason, the robot will have a fire alarm recognition system using a microphone listening for the alarm. Once a fire alarm is detected, AuBi will navigate to the side of the hallway and deactivate until given a command to reactivate. Future iterations of AuBi could connect directly to the fire system to detect the alarms as well as display a map of all the fire exits and which detector was triggered.
In the event of a fire, AuBi will automatically perform the necessary actions so that you can take care of more important matters. Upon re-entering the building, press the button on the touchscreen to reactivate AuBi back to its normal operations.
Electromagnetic Compatibility and Interference (EMC/EMI)
In any system, electromagnetic compatibility is very important. In order for all parts to work correctly, they must not interfere with each other or the other electrical devices around them. Our primary goal will be to not interrupt operation of communication devices or health care devices in the facilities in which AuBi will operate. A careful analysis of all frequencies used will be performed to verify that we are electromagnetically compatible for any environment.
Utility Power Outage or Disturbance
Power outages can be a stressful situation for everyone. Especially in a senior community, the primary focus is making sure that patients are safe and taken care of. We have planned for AuBi to take care of itself in the vent of a power outage. The wireless charging station will hold a float charged 12V battery that will activate once it detects that the main power source is deactivated. It will keep essentials such as the private wireless network and RSSI circuit operational. A signal will then be sent to AuBi to inform it to return to the charging station, where it will stay until the power is restored. During its return to the charging station, it is important that AuBi emit light or sound to notify people of its location. The Corner LEDs will turn white to emit a light and as always, the running light will continue to operate.
A more dangerous scenario would be a power quality event. While these events are out of our control, we can aim to have a plan in the event that this occurs. Since AuBi is never directly connected to a building’s utility, a surge or power quality event will never affect the electronics on board. The wireless charging station is what will be affected. The network operation could potentially be cut off an electronics could be damaged within the charging station. Please follow the following steps to properly shutdown AuBi and assess the wireless charging station:
- Locate AuBi, and press its emergency stop button, disabling all operation.
- Check the lights on the Wi-Fi router attached to the wireless charging station. If the lights do not reflect that the router is powered and capable of transmitting data, unplug the wireless charging station and inform the design team. They will work to assess the situation.
- Next check the wireless charging station for damage. If any electronics seem to be broken or have a black dust covering them, once again, stop and call the design team who will assess the situation.
- If the above tests pass, then reactivate AuBi and monitor the situation for the next few hours. If the robot battery does not appear to charge when AuBi is docked, or if AuBi cannot return to the station, then there are further issues that the design team will evaluate.
In the event that a power surge causes the station to catch fire or start smoking, call your local safety officials immediately.