UTA computer scientist part of effort to help vets

As part of an Army-led effort to design driverless vehicles for a variety of uses, U.S. troops who return from war zones with mental or emotional trauma may one day be taken to their medical appointments by automated cars on military bases.

A computer scientist at the University of Texas at Arlington hopes to make sure the troops can book a ride. Manfred Huber is designing an automatic reservation and reminder system that can be used as an Android smartphone app or accessed at a kiosk along the route.

The project is part of the Army’s Applied Robotics for Installation and Base Operations, or ARIBO, effort, and UTA’s Research Institute is an organizational partner. ARIBO is designed as a series of “living” laboratories that coordinate effort and funding to accelerate safe and useful adoption of automated technologies.

For Huber’s scheduling system, that means ensuring that veterans with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder can easily reserve a ride to a doctor’s appointment. The system will also send the soldier reminders of the pending visit.

“The goal is that by using this, you can reduce the amount of no-shows at the medical center,” Huber said. “It reduces cost, makes it better for the vets themselves because they’re not having to schedule. It promotes better interaction between the veterans and the medical center itself.”

Huber, an associate professor in the UTA department of computer science and engineering, is principal investigator for the $100,000 project, which is led by Robotic Research Llc.

ARIBO is part of the White House’s SmartAmerica Challenge, whose goal is to bring together research in different sectors such as smart manufacturing, healthcare, smart energy, intelligent transportation and disaster response.

A controlled environment such as an Army base is ideal for a driverless transportation system because there are fewer variables like children chasing balls into the street. Robotic Research’s prototype will be tested at Fort Bragg, N.C.

An autonomous vehicle will come out and stop where the vet is, drive him to the medical center and remind him what time he will be picked up. If there’s a delay, he can reschedule.

“That whole interaction is what UTA is doing for this project,” Huber said. The smartphone app would also adjust to the needs of the individual. “For example, if they have bad eyesight or can’t use their hands, it adapts so that it’s the easiest to use for them,” he said.

One reason Huber’s system is so promising for vets is the technology.

“It seems they like the technology of it,” he said. “They basically get text messages and reply to those messages, and it seems to have pretty good results.”

A demonstration is planned this year at the Fort Bragg medical center to show the feasibility and operation of the entire system. It will begin with a few vehicles, and after that, Huber said, the Army might be interested in expanding the program.

Huber and his team have also been working locally on applications for the reservation system for a decade, in partnership with the university’s School of Social Work. One project was an interactive website that has helped mental-health clients in Tarrant County keep up with their appointments.

This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 2:55 PM with the headline "UTA computer scientist part of effort to help vets."