Autonomous mobile robot moving through static crowd: Arm with one-dof and hand with involute shape to maneuver human position

Owing to manpower shortages, robots are expected to be increasingly integrated into society in the future. Moreover, robots will be required to navigate through crowded environments. Thus, we proposed a new method of autonomous movement compatible with physical contact signaling used by humans. The method of contact was investigated before using an arm with six degrees of freedom (DoF), which increases the cost of the robot. In this paper, we propose a novel method of navigating through a human crowd by using a conventional driving system for autonomous mobile robots and an involute-shaped hand with an one-DoF arm. Finally, the effectiveness of the method was confirmed experimentally.