Research on Optimizing Omnidirectional Control Algorithms for Patient Care Nurse Robots

Published online: 23/04/2026

Authors

Corressponding author's email:

ltlong@hcmut.edu.vn

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54644/jte.2026.2018

Keywords:

Nurse robot, Velocity smoothing, Autonomous navigation, Hospital environment, Service robot

Abstract

This research aims to address the instability of localization and navigation systems in service robots operating at high speeds within hospital environments. Rapid fluctuations in velocity often induce mechanical vibrations that distort data from laser scanning sensors, leading to significant errors in map matching and positioning. To overcome this challenge, the paper proposes a method of integrating a first-order low-pass filter into the control loop to smooth linear and angular velocity signals before transmission to the actuators. The approach was experimentally validated using a differential drive nurse robot in a standard corridor scenario with incrementally increasing speed levels. The results demonstrate that the proposed solution significantly improves system reliability, particularly at a velocity of 0.9 meters per second. Specifically, the task completion rate increased substantially from 60% to 92%, while the failure rate in scan matching dropped sharply from 40% to 8%. These figures confirm that suppressing high-frequency components in control commands enhances data overlap, thereby stabilizing the localization process. This solution offers high practical efficiency with low computational cost, making it highly suitable for widespread deployment on autonomous medical robot platforms.

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Author Biographies

Quoc-Cuong Pham, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT), Vietnam

Quoc-Cuong Pham received the Engineer’s degree in Thermal Engineering Technology in 2013 and the Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2017 from Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. From 2018 to 2020, he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Automotive Engineering Technology, Binh Duong University, Vietnam. From 2020 to 2023, he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Technology, Binh Duong Trade Union Technical and Professional Vocational School, Vietnam. From 2023 to present, he has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics, Bach Khoa Sai Gon College, Vietnam. His research interests include mobile robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, deep learning, and autonomous control systems. His research focuses on the integration of AI and IoT in healthcare service robots, with an emphasis on SLAM-based navigation and omnidirectional motion control for nurse-assistive robotic systems.

Email address: 6003240002@huit.edu.vn. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6615-0105

Thanh-Long Le, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), VNU-HCM, Vietnam

Thanh-Long Le received engineer’s degree in Mechanical engineering, in 2011 from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), VNU-HCM, and PhD’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, in 2016 from National Central University (NCU), Taiwan. From 2017 to present, he was a lecturer in Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, VNU-HCM, Vietnam. He is the author of many articles related to microfluidics, computational fluid dynamics, mechatronics and mechanical engineering. Assoc.Prof. Le received the first prize in mechanical engineering for the excellent Vietnamese researcher in Taiwan, 2016 and the best paper award in IC3MT 2018, in ISAE 2023, and Science and Technology Award Golden Globe 2022.

Email address: ltlong@hcmut.edu.vn. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5238-4171

Huy-Hoang Pham, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT), Vietnam

Huy-Hoang Pham received engineer’s degrees in Mechanical engineering (1991) and in Computer science (1997) from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT). One year later, he received master degree in mechanical engineering also from HCMUT. He got PhD’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2005 from Nanyang Technological University - Singapore. He was a lecturer at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, HCMUT, VNU-HCM, Vietnam from 1991 to 2022. Since 2023, Assoc. Prof. Huy-Hoang Pham has worked at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT). He is specialized in micro motion flexure mechanisms and their application, kinematics and dynamics, mechatronics and mechanical engineering.

Email address: hoangph@huit.edu.vn. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7738-348X

Huu-Dung Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), VNU-HCM, Vietnam

Huu-Dung Nguyen is currently an undergraduate student majoring in Mechatronics Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), VNU-HCM, Vietnam. His research interests include robotics, artificial intelligence (computer vision and deep learning), and automatic control systems. He is the author of articles related to the application of AI, IoT, and SLAM in healthcare and nurse-assistive robots. He received the Third Prize in the Science and Technology Awards for Students in Higher Education Institutions from the Ministry of Education and Training in 2025, along with the Pony Chung Scholarship (2025) and the Nitori Scholarship (2024).

Email address: dung.nguyenhuu1207@hcmut.edu.vn. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2042-7055

Thanh-Huy Phung, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), VNU-HCM, Vietnam

Thanh-Huy Phung received his Engineer’s Degree in Mechatronics from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology (HCMUT), VNU-HCM, Vietnam, in 2015. In 2020, he earned his PhD from Soonchunhyang University, South Korea. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Mechatronics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, VNU-HCM. His research focuses on advanced manufacturing techniques, additive manufacturing, applied artificial intelligence, computer vision, and robotics.

Email address: huypt@hcmut.edu.vn. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6088-7940

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Published

23-04-2026

How to Cite

[1]
Phạm Quốc Cường, Lê Thanh Long, Phạm Huy Hoàng, Nguyễn Hữu Dũng, and Phùng Thanh Huy, “Research on Optimizing Omnidirectional Control Algorithms for Patient Care Nurse Robots: Published online: 23/04/2026”, JTE, Apr. 2026.

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