**3.1 User-centered development, technology acceptance, user experience and ethical, legal and social aspects (ELSA)**

The development of robotic systems for dependent persons requires a usercentred, iterative approach to ensure acceptance, experience and actual use by dependent persons [5]. Various qualitative and quantitative methods exist for the early involvement of users—often participatory design (PD) methods. The focus here is on the active participation of stakeholders and target groups as well as joint learning [6], the recording of the needs of the target groups and an iterative development through the step-by-step implementation and testing of functions and systems [7]. User-centered methods and techniques of human– robot interaction have already been used in research projects, e.g., in the field of "Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments" [8]. The entire user interface was derived from the requirements and wishes of the target group. A similar procedure was also used in the prototypical development of a service robot for use in geriatric care, in which critical user requirements were collected in a quantitative study and incorporated into the design of the robot [9]. The fact that an early integration of the necessary stakeholders of benefits is shown by the research of the University of Vienna on the prototype assistance robot "Hobbit." The existing acceptance problems were only eliminated by the use of an "icebreaker team" [10]. In addition, the involvement of users can also help to take into account the fears, hopes and values of future users and thus integrate them into the design phase [11]. For this purpose, a nuanced understanding of the ethical challenges is central [12]. Research in the context of a user-centered development of robotic quadrupeds does not exist yet.

#### **3.2 Mobile robot systems based on quadrupeds**

Walking robots (e.g., robotic quadrupeds—see **Figure 3**) are mobile robot systems that can realize biologically inspired gaits agile, fast and balanced by one or more legs [17]. The high degree of mobility of walking robots, in comparison to wheel-based systems, also enables them to overcome obstacles and barriers such as steps, steps or uneven ground with statically and dynamically stable gaits, whereby robotic quadrupeds stand out [18].

The development field of walking robots has experienced a strong upswing in recent years, with the first domestic applications also being presented [19]. Drivers of this development are not least the high-profile ideas of Boston Dynamics Incorporation, which has currently developed heavy-duty quadruped robots (e.g., BigDog or LS3) with a payload of up to 181 kg. The more relevant robotic quadrupeds in the domestic environment are Spot [20] and SpotMini with payloads of 14–45 kg and a dead weight of 30–75 kg. The quadruped robots are electrically and

**Figure 3.** *Robotic quadrupeds. (a) SpotMini [13], (b) Laikago [14], (c) ANYmal [15], (d) ANYmal and Continental [16].*

#### *Living and Interacting with Robots: Engaging Users in the Development of a Mobile Robot DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90112*

hydraulically actuated and are transformed into an autonomous locomotion by the insertion of, e.g., lidar and depth cameras.

Furthermore, the ANYmal system of the Robotics System Lab (RSL) at ETH Zurich has made significant progress in recent years. With a dead weight of 30 kg and a payload of 10 kg, the system achieves a maximum speed of 1 m/s. The system can be used for a wide range of applications. The system can move autonomously in its environment thanks to the sensors used for this purpose. The Chinese company Unitree Robotics, founded in 2016, developed Laikago. With a total weight of 24 kg, it is capable of overcoming a wide range of uneven surfaces and withstanding kicks in a stable manner. What all systems have in common is that they have not yet been transferred to the area of application of care and therefore do not respond to domain-specific requirements. However, these systems impressively demonstrate the maturity of the technology. This is also underscored by the press releases of Boston Dynamics Incorporation, which is already planning to produce 100 robotic quadrupeds for sale in 2019 [21]. Subcomponents of the ANYbotics AG and Unitree Robotics systems are already available on the market, which were used for the calculation of the components.

Existing systems, however, were developed less along specific user requirements than along technical feasibility. Furthermore, experience shows that, despite press announcements, it remains to be seen whether these systems are actually mature enough to be launched on the market in the near future. In addition, the participatory development of the system along the High-Tech Strategy 2025 enables the Federal Government to both strengthen the competencies of Germany as a science location and contribute to the active shaping of highly innovative systems.

The biologically inspired locomotion of robotic quadrupeds has been the subject of interdisciplinary research for many years [22]. In this area, remarkable successes have been achieved in recent years in stability against external influences (e.g., kicks and jolts by persons) [23], adaptivity on uneven surfaces [24], and safe interaction with humans through the transition from stiff, position-controlled to active, passive and hybrid compliant actuators [25]. Besides the integration of further sensors for environment detection and recognition and the derived motion planning and generation [26], these and other control engineering approaches of whole-body control for the direct adaptation of the system to a changing, uneven terrain are applied [27].

Furthermore, the field of mobile robotic systems with tyres has already produced initial approaches for following persons [28] with medium numbers of persons as well as following systems, e.g., in supermarkets [29], which have so far only been evaluated on a small scale and which have not yet included the aforementioned challenges of robotic quadrupeds. In addition to the technical implementation, the navigation of mobile robot systems outdoors has been the subject of interdisciplinary research for several years [30]. Challenges here are the recognition and classification of passable paths [31], changing lighting situations during the day [32], dynamic obstacles such as people, cyclists or pets [33], intersections and road crossings [34].

## **4. Scientific and technical objectives of the project**

#### **4.1 Requirements analysis and scenario development of robotic quadrupeds**

Since the project goal contains a user-centered and demand-oriented development of the demonstrators, the specific requirements of the stakeholders of the care sector—persons in need of care, carers as well as relatives—are collected

in design thinking workshops. On the basis of these user-specific requirements, concrete scenarios and functions for technical implementation are defined, such as, for example, a required seating area on the system or a shopping basket for weekly purchases. The following research questions are addressed within the workshops:

