Optimizing the structure and movement of a robotic bat with biological kinematic synergies

In this article, we present methods to optimize the design and flight characteristics of a biologically inspired bat-like robot. In previous, work we have designed the topological structure for the wing kinematics of this robot; here we present methods to optimize the geometry of this structure, and to compute actuator trajectories such that its wingbeat pattern closely matches biological counterparts. Our approach is motivated by recent studies on biological bat flight that have shown that the salient aspects of wing motion can be accurately represented in a low-dimensional space. Although bats have over 40 degrees of freedom (DoFs), our robot possesses several biologically meaningful morphing specializations. We use principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize the two most dominant modes of biological bat flight kinematics, and we optimize our robot’s parametric kinematics to mimic these. The method yields a robot that is reduced from five degrees of actuation (DoAs) to just three, and that actively folds its wings within a wingbeat period. As a result of mimicking synergies, the robot produces an average net lift improvesment of 89% over the same robot when its wings cannot fold

A kinematic model of the shoulder complex for estimating shoulder girdle angles without acromial sensing

The movements of each joint in the shoulder complex is important to measure for studying shoulder function, injuries, and rehabilitation. The current standards for measuring these motions are non-invasive motion capture of surface markers or regression equations from other research studies. Certain environments, such as robotic exoskeletons and spacesuits, are not compatible with motion capture systems because their hardware obscures or precludes these measurement. The existing regression models are generalized across a wide range of subjects and are designed with experimental data that has minimal environmental interaction. So, these methods are insufficient for estimating shoulder girdle motion in an occluded setting and with substantial human-device interaction. The objective of this thesis is to develop and evaluate a novel kinematic shoulder model that estimates shoulder girdle angles without acromial sensors. This model leverages the geometric similarities of the human shoulder and a RRSS spatial linkage to constrain the internal degrees of freedom of the shoulder mechanism. A nonlinear optimization method is used to predict the configuration of the shoulder by matching desired distances between the scapula and the ribcage. This model is validated using experimental measurements of 77 arm movements from five subjects. With ideal inputs, the kinematic model is able to accurately estimate shoulder girdle angles within 2°. The model was also able to outperform two existing shoulder regression models. However, small changes to model geometry or input kinematics result in significant errors in all shoulder angles. This is likely due to the rigidity of the kinematic constraint, which uses an idealized mechanical model to represent a complex biological system with flexible joints. Ultimately, this work shows that the kinematic constraints from this linkage model can be used to predict shoulder angles during a variety of different movements without sensors on the acromion. The model's robustness can be improved by pairing it with a compliant joint model to permit errors in anthropometry and input kinematics.Mechanical Engineerin

Robot Assisted Shoulder Rehabilitation: Biomechanical Modelling, Design and Performance Evaluation

The upper limb rehabilitation robots have made it possible to improve the motor recovery in stroke survivors while reducing the burden on physical therapists. Compared to manual arm training, robot-supported training can be more intensive, of longer duration, repetitive and task-oriented. To be aligned with the most biomechanically complex joint of human body, the shoulder, specific considerations have to be made in the design of robotic shoulder exoskeletons. It is important to assist all shoulder degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) when implementing robotic exoskeletons for rehabilitation purposes to increase the range of motion (ROM) and avoid any joint axes misalignments between the robot and human’s shoulder that cause undesirable interaction forces and discomfort to the user. The main objective of this work is to design a safe and a robotic exoskeleton for shoulder rehabilitation with physiologically correct movements, lightweight modules, self-alignment characteristics and large workspace. To achieve this goal a comprehensive review of the existing shoulder rehabilitation exoskeletons is conducted first to outline their main advantages and disadvantages, drawbacks and limitations. The research has then focused on biomechanics of the human shoulder which is studied in detail using robotic analysis techniques, i.e. the human shoulder is modelled as a mechanism. The coupled constrained structure of the robotic exoskeleton connected to a human shoulder is considered as a hybrid human-robot mechanism to solve the problem of joint axes misalignments. Finally, a real-scale prototype of the robotic shoulder rehabilitation exoskeleton was built to test its operation and its ability for shoulder rehabilitation

Modélisation cinématique et dynamique avancée du membre supérieur pour l’analyse clinique

Soft Tissue Artefact (STA) is one of the most important limitations when measuring upper limb kinematics through marker-based motion capture techniques, especially for the scapula. Multi Body Optimisation (MBO) has already been proposed to correct STA when measuring lower limb kinematics and can be easily adapted for upper limb. For this purpose, the joint kinematic constraints should be as anatomical as possible. The aim of this thesis was thus to define and validate an anatomical upper limb kinematic model that could be used both to correct STA through the use of MBO and for future musculoskeletal models developments. For this purpose, a model integrating closed loop models of the forearm and of the scapula belt have been developed, including a new anatomical-based model of the scapulothoracic joint. This model constrained the scapula plane to be tangent to an ellipsoid modelling the thorax. All these models were confronted to typical models extracted from the literature through cadaveric and in vivo intracortical pins studies. All models generated similar error when evaluating their ability to mimic the bones kinematics and to correct STA. However, the new forearm and scapulothoracic models were more interesting when considering further musculoskeletal developments: The forearm model allows considering both the ulna and the radius and the scapulothoracic model better represents the constraint existing between the thorax and the scapula. This thesis allowed developing a complete anatomical upper limb kinematic chain. Although the STA correction obtained was not as good as expected, the use of this approach for a future musculoskeletal models has been validatedLes Artefacts de Tissus Mous (ATM) sont actuellement une des limitations principales pour la mesure du mouvement du membre supérieur avec les techniques actuelles d'analyse du mouvement. L'optimisation multi-segmentaire (OMS) a déjà prouvé son efficacité pour la mesure du mouvement du membre inférieur. Afin d'avoir la meilleure correction possible, il est nécessaire d'utiliser des modèles d'articulation proches de l'anatomie. L'objectif de cette thèse a donc été de développer et de valider un modèle du membre supérieur qui pourrait être utilisé pour la correction des ATM par OMS. De nouveaux modèles en boucle fermée de l'avant-bras et de la ceinture scapulaire ont ainsi été développés accompagnés d'un nouveau modèle de l'articulation scapulo-thoracique imposant à la scapula d'être tangente à un ellipsoïde modélisant le thorax. Ces nouveaux modèles ont été confrontés aux modèles courants de la littérature à travers une étude avec vis intra-corticales sur cadavre et in vivo sur sujets asymptomatiques. Des niveaux d'erreur similaires ont été observés pour tous les modèles quant à leur capacité de corriger les ATM et d'imiter la cinématique osseuse. Les nouveaux modèles semblent cependant beaucoup plus intéressants dans une perspective de développement d'un modèle musculo- squelettique. En effet, le modèle d'avant-bras autorise à la fois d'avoir le mouvement du radius et de l'ulna tandis que le modèle scapulo-thoracique représente mieux la contrainte existant entre le thorax et la scapula. En résumé, cette thèse a permis de développer un modèle complet proche de l'anatomie du membre supérieur permettant de corriger les ATM en utilisant une OMS. Bien que la correction des ATM obtenue n'est pas aussi satisfaisante qu'espérée, l'utilisation de cette approche pour le développement de futurs modèles musculo-squelettique a été validé

Master of Science

thesisHuman motion capture has a wide variety of applications in the entertainment and medical industries. Actors using motion capture devices provide realistic motion inputs for cartoons, virtual reality environments™, and computer and robot animation, resulting in tremendous time and cost savings. Medical applications include range of motion studies to diagnose injuries or identify insurance fraud, biomechanics studies of human performance and calculation of joint stresses, and ergonomics studies of humans in the workplace. There are common problems facing all methods of motion capture: how to attach the device to the individual's limbs, what sensors to use and how to use them, how to transmit data and convert it into a usable form, calibration of the device, data display, user comfort, and device reliability. Even when these problems are addressed, there are limitations in the kinematic model as well as human joint anomalies that make all methods imperfect. Currently, there are optical, magnetic, and exoskeletal devices for motion capture that vary widely in terms of performance, cost and limitations. Considering the likely environment and performance needs of the Sarcos Research Corporation, the SenSuit™ was built as an exoskeletal device. Creation of the SenSuit™ involved overcoming three major hurdles: the soft tissue interface, accurate joint angle measurement, and sensor design. The soft tissue interface is the series of rigid plates that are placed on skeletal landmarks located near the surface of the user's skin. Through appropriate location of the plates, a consistent, stable fit to the skeleton was achieved for users, which enhanced joint angle data. Accurate joint angle measurements were achieved either by aligning sensor rotation centers with approximate joint rotation centers or by computationally transforming the outputs of three degree of freedom sensor clusters located to reduce nonlinearities. A software routine allowed for quick, linear calibration of the individual. Joint angle sensors were designed that were small, linear, robust, and resistant to wear and contaminants. The SenSuit™ has proven itself both comfortable and reliable. It has been thoroughly tested in real-world applications, including real-time driving of graphical and robotic figures, as well as the programming of various robotic figures

Optimizing the structure and movement of a robotic bat with biological kinematic synergies

In this thesis we present methods to optimize the design and flight characteristics of a biologically-inspired bat-like robot. Recent work has designed the topological structure for the wing kinematics of this robot; here we present methods to optimize the geometry of this structure, and to compute actuator trajectories that yield successful flight behaviors. Our approach is motivated by recent studies on biological bat flight, which have shown that the salient aspects of wing motion can be accurately represented in a low-dimensional space. We use principal components analysis (PCA) to characterize the dominant modes of biological bat flight kinematics, and optimize our robotic design to mimic these. In particular, we use the first and second principal components to shape the parametric kinematics and actuator trajectories through finite state nonlinear constrained optimization. The method yields a robot mechanism that, despite having only five degrees of actuation, possesses several biologically meaningful morphing specializations. We have validated our approach in both simulation and flight experiments with our prototype robotic bat

Investigation of UCL Tears in Baseball Pitchers

Tearing of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is one of the most common injuries for baseball pitchers. During a pitch, the UCL experiences high levels of stress between the cocking and acceleration phase. Because this stress cannot be directly measured in vivo, a pitching robot with many biomimetic features was created to gain a better understanding of these forces. This robotic research platform was then used to design a brace that reduces the amount of stress the ligament undergoes, potentially prolonging the play time for athletes. The robotic arm featured seven independently, pneumatically actuated Hydro Muscles and a biomimetic UCL. When the brace was used on the robotic arm, the force on the artificial UCL decreased during the pitching phases which validated its effectiveness

Optimizing the structure and movement of a robotic bat with biological kinematic synergies

In this article, we present methods to optimize the design and flight characteristics of a biologically inspired bat-like robot. In previous, work we have designed the topological structure for the wing kinematics of this robot; here we present methods to optimize the geometry of this structure, and to compute actuator trajectories such that its wingbeat pattern closely matches biological counterparts. Our approach is motivated by recent studies on biological bat flight that have shown that the salient aspects of wing motion can be accurately represented in a low-dimensional space. Although bats have over 40 degrees of freedom (DoFs), our robot possesses several biologically meaningful morphing specializations. We use principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize the two most dominant modes of biological bat flight kinematics, and we optimize our robot’s parametric kinematics to mimic these. The method yields a robot that is reduced from five degrees of actuation (DoAs) to just three, and that actively folds its wings within a wingbeat period. As a result of mimicking synergies, the robot produces an average net lift improvesment of 89% over the same robot when its wings cannot fold