Development of a practical robotic follower to support Home Oxygen Therapy patients - empirical evaluation in public space

Home Oxygen Therapy is a medical treatment for patients suffering from severe lung diseases. High purity oxygen is usually supplied to the nose via cannula (air tube), and it can give patients a high quality of life outside of hospital. However, whenever patients go out they must carry portable oxygen equipment which typically weighs about 4kg. In order to support H.O.T. patients, we have proposed a mobile following robot to carry the heavy oxygen equipment, consisting of two active differential drive wheels and two passive wheels connected by two parallel linkage mechanisms so as to form a rocker-bogie mechanism to negotiate a step or bump sideways. A tether interface is introduced to achieve robust measurement of the relative position of the user with respect to the robot. In this paper, we evaluate the size of the robot taken on public transportation. Moreover, an initial evaluation of the robot by Home Oxygen Therapy patient on a public road is reported, suggesting effectiveness in reducing the physical burden of the patient.