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Development of semi-autonomous wheelchair and robot health aid to encourage community participation for persons with low mobility

Award Number: 90IFST0014
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY, INDEPENDENT LIVING, AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH
OPDIV: ACL
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: OTHER
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2026

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Development of semi-autonomous wheelchair and robot health aid to encourage community participation for persons with low mobility - CSUN’s Autonomy Research Center for STEAHM (ARCS) will, for this three-year project, retrofit a motorized wheelchair by equipping it with sensors and cameras, and adding a socially intelligent robot health aid. The goal of this project is to upgrade an ambulatory device to enhance mobility and community engagement, particularly for participants who need assistance making behavior-based decisions while navigating outdoors or moving around indoor environments where map-based navigation isn’t feasible. The objectives are to 1) define the fundamental interaction designs that need to be present across the things participants interact with in their daily life (health and non-health related), 2) explore the technical features most useful to make the device user-friendly, and 3) validate if a behavior-based approach to design with robot aid encourages community engagement for homebound participants. Anticipated outcomes include: 1)Persons with low mobility and their support system will develop greater trust for working with smart medical devices and with the healthcare system, 2) retrofitted wheelchair-smart robot devices will provide an affordable, more customized alternative, 3) use of the robot will show a measurable increase in participants’ desire to engage with their community outside the home, and 4) a sustainability plan will be developed with mentoring from Medtronic. The expected products are increased participation for CSUN student researchers and faculty to engage Medtronic and local health services for individuals with disabilities, a retrofitted motorized wheelchair and socially intelligent robot aid prototype, scholarly articles, a public dataset for behavior-based navigation, and educational resources.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $62,807 )
2025	2025	THE UNIVERSITY CORPORATION	18111 NORDHOFF ST	NORTHRIDGE	CA	91330	LOS ANGELES	USA	ACL National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research	00	3	9/17/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$62,807
														Subtotal = $62,807

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $59,596 )
2024	2024	THE UNIVERSITY CORPORATION	18111 NORDHOFF ST	NORTHRIDGE	CA	91330	LOS ANGELES	USA	ACL National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research	00	2	6/5/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$59,596
2024	2023	THE UNIVERSITY CORPORATION	18111 NORDHOFF ST	NORTHRIDGE	CA	91330	LOS ANGELES	USA	ACL National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research	00	2	6/5/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2024	2023	UNIVERSITY CORPORATION, THE	18111 NORDHOFF ST	NORTHRIDGE	CA	91330	LOS ANGELES	USA	ACL National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research	02	1	10/13/2023	OTHER REVISION	$0
														Subtotal = $59,596

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $77,596 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY CORPORATION, THE	18111 NORDHOFF ST	NORTHRIDGE	CA	91330	LOS ANGELES	USA	ACL National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research	00	1	8/30/2023	NEW	$77,596
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY CORPORATION, THE	18111 NORDHOFF ST	NORTHRIDGE	CA	91330	LOS ANGELES	USA	ACL National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research	01	1	9/19/2023	OTHER REVISION	$0
														Subtotal = $77,596

Grand Total All Awards = $199,999

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Development of semi-autonomous wheelchair and robot health aid to encourage community participation for persons with low mobility

Award Number: 90IFST0014

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY, INDEPENDENT LIVING, AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH

OPDIV: ACL

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: OTHER

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2026

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