June 09, 2025
Fun:
Getting to use the robot in general and seeing it respond to our programming
Interacting with users/experts (got to play with tools in the clinic that actual physical therapists use)
Seeing the project successfully run
Lab with robot simulations in different environments
Useful:
The ArUco lab was definitely the most frequently visited one after it was completed. Having the quick start for commands to run to detect poses and setup the robot was incredible helpful
The user interface lab was also a great start to our project and visualizing working with the stretch from a client perspective. Having the TA code from the beginning was also a great base to build off of.
The TAs were extremely responsive and helpful in answering any questions we had
Less Useful:
Some of the documentation or tutorials linked in the in-class labs were out of date
Although we enjoyed working with the Rviz map, we never really utilized the perception capabilities of stretch since we wanted to localize the robot based on the chair position, rather than the user. This way, it would be a more standardized operation for clinicians.
Would be Useful But Was Missing:
An autonomous movement lab would be helpful for expanding on our pre-made poses with the ArUco markers. We used a series of wait commands and rotations in our code to run through movements but having more familiarity with automation would make our movement smoother.
Labs that were more complex than just following a tutorial but also more guided than the UI/programming by demonstration lab would have been helpful in developing understanding of how to use ROS and the Stretch robot
It would be useful to have different robot attachments apart from the gripper. Maybe a magnet, or something that can be inserted. Additionally, it would be useful if the robot's battery were replaced, as the robot can work for only a few minutes when it is disconnected.