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Development, Technology Transfer, and Commercialization of the Automated Transport & Retrieval System (ATRS) Lehigh University Computer Science and Engineering PI: John Spletzer Co PIs: Tom Panzarella, Sanjiv Singh & David Wu NSF Award #IIP-0650115 3 Year Award Start Date: 1 March 2007 Key Attributes of our Innovation Ecosystem: Brief Project Overview: The focus of this project is the development, technology transfer, and commercialization of a new paradigm for personal independent mobility: the Automated Transport and Retrieval System (ATRS). Questioning & Curiosity: The ATRS concept was a “back of the envelope” moment by Mr. Thomas Panzarella, Sr., CEO of Cook Technologies, as he questioned why there wasn’t a better solution to personal automobility for wheelchair users. The resulting partnership enabled his vision to be realized. ATRS affords complete mobility independence by providing wheelchair users a safer and more economical transportation alternative to van conversions. This is accomplished by seamlessly integrating robotics and automation technologies with existing mobility products into structurally unmodified automobiles. The project’s primary goal of commercializing ATRS has been achieved, and the system is currently in the hands of end-uses who rely upon it on a daily basis for personal automobility. Risk Taking: Real-world use of ATRS. The system has been in the hands of end-users for nearly 2 years. There were significant technical and marketing risks associated with the commercialization of ATRS. These were mitigated through a strong partnership. From an industry perspective, having an academic partner for technical collaboration and strong support from local government enabled us to weather most of the storm. Program Activities: Openness: Developed reliable and robust perception and control algorithms to enable autonomous docking of the smart wheelchair system. Openness is fundamental to the ATRS partnership. The free exchange of information and ideas allowed our team to meet an aggressive commercialization timeline. Furthermore, results from system development were also disseminated through robotics conference and journal publications. Successfully completed ANSI/RESNA testing in Nov 2007 FDA approval and ATRS becomes commercially available in June 2008 ATRS Patent awarded in September 2009 Significant outreach and training with ATRS, to include demonstrations at various Abilities Expos, demonstrations to the Veterans Administration and Wounded Warriors, and training for Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialists. Demonstrated feasibility of migrating to an on-board perception model in 2009. This has the potential to significantly reduce the BOM for the system in the future. Top Contributions/Outcomes: Collaboration Across Fields: Our partnership included members of academia, industry, and the public sector. Merging the research expertise of Lehigh Universit with the commercialization experience of Freedom Sciences ensured a technically robust solution. Our public sector partners also played key roles in the success of ATRS through economic development programs such as the Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ), and developmental funding. 1. FDA approval for ATRS. This was necessary for the system to enter the commercial market . Placing Partners in “New Environments” & “Playgrounds”: 2. ATRS commercialization in June 2008. 3. ATRS has been in daily use with end-users for nearly two years! Top Challenges: 1. Market acceptance of a disruptive technology. ATRS is attempting to replace a mobility paradigm that has been the standard solution for decades. 2. Regulatory requirements for commercialization. 3. Technical challenges of system development to ensure a reliable, robust solution for operations in outdoor environments. Leading/Inspiring, Surprising or Unexpected Results: Partners: Freedom Science LLC, (Mr. Thomas Panzarella), Philadelphia, PA The most surprising result was realizing how fundamental transportation is for an individual’s quality of life. People rely upon automobiles for employment, education, worship, job training, recreation, and many other activities of community life. Lehigh University, (Profs. John Spletzer & David Wu), Bethlehem, PA Sensible Machines, Inc., (Dr. Sanjiv Singh), Pittsburgh, PA Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Developmentt, Harrisburg, PA The most inspiring result was seeing first-hand how ATRS could increase the independence of a wheelchair user, and significantly improve his/her quality of life. Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, Philadelphia, PA The National Science Foundation PFI Partnerships between industry and academia can be strained when the parties bring different expectations to the project. From the beginning, each partner was committed to ensuring that ATRS would not end as a technical paper, but rather a real-world product that would reach the people who needed it most. Our shared passion for addressing this very important social issue and spurring economic development in our region helped ensure the project’s success. . National Science Foundation Partnerships For Innovation Grantee’s Meeting April 25-27, 2010 Arlington, VA . .