Elderly Assist Robot

This project aimed to create a robot capable of assisting elderly people with tasks in their everyday lives. The project focused on the design, simulation, and the implementation of a mobile robotic base with an attached robotic arm. The project culminated in a prototype robot capable of performing basic chassis and arm control which can be used as a platform for future development

Shanghai Service Robot

A robotic base and control program capable of following a user was created that linked TwinCAT automation software, and Visual Studios C++. Microsoft’s Kinect sensor and Xbox Controller were used for communication between the robot and the user. The robot used skeletal gestures, speech recognition, and remote commands to accomplish task

Otimização muscle-in-the-loop em tempo real para reabilitação física com um exosqueleto ativo: uma mudança de paradigma

Assisting human locomotion with a wearable robotic orthosis is still quite challenging, largely due to the complexity of the neuromusculoskeletal system, the time-varying dynamics that accompany motor adaptation, and the uniqueness of every individual’s response to the assistance given by the robot. To this day, these devices have not met their well-known promise yet, mostly due to the fact that they are not perfectly suitable for the rehabilitation of neuropathologic patients. One of the main challenges hampering this goal still relies on the interface and co-dependency between the human and the machine. Nowadays, most commercial exoskeletons replay pre-defined gait patterns, whereas research exoskeletons are switching to controllers based on optimized torque profiles. In most cases, the dynamics of the human musculoskeletal system are still ignored and do not take into account the optimal conditions for inducing a positive modulation of neuromuscular activity. This is because both rehabilitation strategies are still emphasized on the macro level of the whole joint instead of focusing on the muscles’ dynamics and activity, which are the actual anatomical elements that may need to be rehabilitated. Strategies to keep the human in the loop of the exoskeleton’s control laws in real-time may help to overcome these challenges. The main purpose of the present dissertation is to make a paradigm shift in the approach on how the assistance that is given to a subject by an exoskeleton is modelled and controlled during physical rehabilitation. Therefore, in the scope of the present work, it was intended to design, concede, implement, and validate a real-time muscle-in-the-loop optimization model to find the best assistive support ratio that would induce optimal rehabilitation conditions to a specific group of impaired muscles while having a minimum impact on the other healthy muscles. The developed optimization model was implemented in the form of a plugin and was integrated on a neuromechanical model-based interface for driving a bilateral ankle exoskeleton. Experimental pilot tests evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of the model. Results of the most significant pilots achieved EMG reductions up to 61 ± 3 % in Soleus and 41 ± 10 % in Gastrocnemius Lateralis. Moreover, results also demonstrated the efficiency of the optimization’s specific reduction on rehabilitation by looking into the muscular fatigue after each experiment. Finally, two parallel preliminary studies emerged from the pilots, which looked at muscle adaptation, after a new assistive condition had been applied, over time and at the effect of the lateral positioning of the exoskeleton’s actuators on the leg muscles.Auxiliar a locomoção humana com uma ortose robótica ainda é bastante desafiante, em grande parte devido à complexidade do sistema neuromusculoesquelético, à dinâmica variável no tempo que acompanha a adaptação motora e à singularidade da resposta de cada indivíduo à assistência dada pelo robô. Até hoje, está por cumprir a promessa inicial destes dispositivos, principalmente devido ao facto de não serem perfeitamente adequados para a reabilitação de pacientes neuropatológicos. Um dos principais desafios que dificultam esse objetivo foca-se ainda na interface e na co-dependência entre o ser humano e a máquina. Hoje em dia, a maioria dos exoesqueletos comerciais reproduz padrões de marcha predefinidos, enquanto que os exoesqueletos em investigação estão só agora a mudar para controladores com base em perfis de binário otimizados. Na maioria dos casos, a dinâmica do sistema musculoesquelético humano ainda é ignorada e não tem em consideração as condições ideais para induzir uma modulação positiva da atividade neuromuscular. Isso ocorre porque ambas as estratégias de reabilitação ainda são enfatizadas no nível macro de toda a articulação, em vez de se concentrar na dinâmica e atividade dos músculos, que são os elementos anatómicos que realmente precisam de ser reabilitados. Estratégias para manter o ser humano em loop nos comandos que controlam o exoesqueleto em tempo real podem ajudar a superar estes desafios. O principal objetivo desta dissertação é fazer uma mudança de paradigma na abordagem em como a assistência que é dada a um sujeito por um exosqueleto é modelada e controlada durante a reabilitação física. Portanto, no contexto do presente trabalho, pretendeu-se projetar, conceder, implementar e validar um modelo de otimização muscle-in-the-loop em tempo real para encontrar a melhor relação de suporte capaz de induzir as condições ideais de reabilitação para um grupo específico de músculos fragilizados, tendo um impacto mínimo nos outros músculos saudáveis. O modelo de otimização desenvolvido foi implementado na forma de um plugin e foi integrado numa interface baseada num modelo neuromecânico para o controlo de um exoesqueleto bilateral de tornozelo. Testes experimentais piloto avaliaram a viabilidade e a eficácia do modelo. Os resultados dos testes mais significativos demonstraram reduções de EMG de até 61 ± 3 % no Soleus e 41 ± 10 % no Gastrocnemius Lateral. Adicionalmente, os resultados demonstraram também a eficiência em reabilitação da redução específica no EMG devido à otimização tendo em conta a fadiga muscular após cada teste. Finalmente, dois estudos preliminares paralelos emergiram dos testes piloto, que analisaram a adaptação muscular após uma nova condição assistiva ter sido definida ao longo do tempo e o efeito do posicionamento lateral dos atuadores do exoesqueleto nos músculos da perna.Mestrado em Engenharia Biomédic

Impact of Ear Occlusion on In-Ear Sounds Generated by Intra-oral Behaviors

We conducted a case study with one volunteer and a recording setup to detect sounds induced by the actions: jaw clenching, tooth grinding, reading, eating, and drinking. The setup consisted of two in-ear microphones, where the left ear was semi-occluded with a commercially available earpiece and the right ear was occluded with a mouldable silicon ear piece. Investigations in the time and frequency domains demonstrated that for behaviors such as eating, tooth grinding, and reading, sounds could be recorded with both sensors. For jaw clenching, however, occluding the ear with a mouldable piece was necessary to enable its detection. This can be attributed to the fact that the mouldable ear piece sealed the ear canal and isolated it from the environment, resulting in a detectable change in pressure. In conclusion, our work suggests that detecting behaviors such as eating, grinding, reading with a semi-occluded ear is possible, whereas, behaviors such as clenching require the complete occlusion of the ear if the activity should be easily detectable. Nevertheless, the latter approach may limit real-world applicability because it hinders the hearing capabilities.</p

Industrial human-robot collaboration: maximizing performance while maintaining safety

The goal of this thesis is to maximize performance in collaborative applications, while maintaining safety. For this, assembly workplaces are analyzed, typical tasks identified, and the potential of collaborative robots is elaborated. Current safety regulations are analyzed in order to identify the challenges in safe human-robot collaboration. Different methods are proposed to solve inefficiency in collaborative applications, in particular, intuitive programming of collaborative robots, efficient control with human-in-the-loop constraints, and a hardware solution, the Robotic Airbag.Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Steigerung der Effizienz in kollaborativen Anwendungen, bei gleichzeitiger Einhaltung der Sicherheitsbestimmungen. Dazu werden Montagearbeitsplätze analysiert und das Potenzial kollaborativer Roboter erarbeitet. Aktuelle Sicherheitsvorschriften werden analysiert, um die Herausforderungen einer sicheren Mensch-Roboter-Zusammenarbeit zu identifizieren. Verschiedene Methoden wie intuitive Programmierung von kollaborativen Robotern, eine effiziente Steuerung mit Human-in-the-Loop Beschränkungen und eine Hardwarelösung - der Robotic Airbag - werden präsentiert

Industrial Human-Robot Collaboration: Maximizing Performance While Maintaining Safety

For many years, separated autonomous robotic systems have been an essential component in industrial manufacturing. In particular, these heavy-payload robots perform a wide range of tasks, where high precision and repeatability is crucial. A flexible adaptation of fast changing tasks or environments as well as the interaction with humans can rather not be realized by these types of robots. Recently, a paradigm shift regarding customer demand could be observed. Short product life-cycles as well as increasing individualization of products require flexible manufacturing processes. Therefore, novel light-weight robot technology was developed, which enables the collaboration of humans and robots. In particular, highly productive robots are combined with the high flexibility of humans. However, only a few collaborative applications have been established in industry, which is mainly due to the low efficiency, i.e., large cycle times caused by safety regulations. The goal of this thesis is to maximize performance in collaborative applications, while maintaining safety. For this, assembly workplaces are analyzed, typical tasks identified, and the potential of collaborative robots is elaborated. Current safety regulations are analyzed in order to identify the challenges in safe human-robot collaboration. Then, a novel control method is presented, which enables intuitive, safe, and efficient control of robots. The Mirroring Human Arm Motions approach presents a velocity-limited trajectory generation, in particular, for orientations in quaternion space. This method is extended to an online via-point trajectory generation in order to enable an adjustment of velocity limits for guaranteeing safety in realtime. Furthermore, in collaborative applications particularly collisions with the human arm are likely to occur. Therefore, human-arm performance is analyzed and experiments similar to typical collaborative scenarios are executed, to determine the dynamic properties. By exploiting the obtained information on human arm dynamics, a novel approach to improve the performance of robot motions is presented. From the experiments, a simplified human arm model is derived, which enables the calculation of movements of the human into the path of the robot. With this approach, a maximum robot velocity depending on kinematic limitations of robots and human-in-the-loop constraints can be determined. This idea is further developed into a nonlinear optimization problem, where minimal-time motions are found and applications with low-cycle times can be realized. In order to enable flexible robot motions within the entire workspace of the robot, a generalization method using Dynamic Movement Primitives is presented. It contains a novel real-time consideration of spacial and kinematic constraints, to fulfill the requirements on safe human-robot collaboration. Experiments on a collaborative workbench prove the effectiveness of the presented methods. Finally, a novel airbag technology is proposed, which enables a protective coverage of dangerous tools and objects and protects humans against injuries, caused by a collision with the robot. The so called Robotic Airbag is inflated with pressured air to create a cushion around sharp edges of tool and object. Intrinsic safety is guaranteed, as the airbag is always inflated before initiating a robot motion. In order to exclude an affect of the tool functionality, the Robotic Airbag can be deflated whenever required. Experiments with a crash-test dummy, and finally with a volunteer, prove the functionality and compliance with current safety standards. In Summary, the presented methods in this thesis enable a significant improvement of efficiency and safety in collaborative applications

Strategies in Addressing Psychological Injuries at Work in Economically Transitioning Societies

Work-related mental health issues, also known as psychological injuries (such as burnout, stress, fatigue or depression as a result of long working hours, high work pressure and bullying or even violence), have become substantive workplace and social concerns due to the adverse effect on employees and peer workers. Consequentially, employers often face costs due to psychologically injured employee’s long periods of absence or productivity loss. People suffering from such injuries may also face challenging family and social relations and some of them would have to resort to public resources for treatment and support. Employers and governments in developed countries have put great efforts on addressing these issues. In contrast, in developing countries, the focus of work injuries mostly lays on physical injuries. Mental health problems resulting from employment have attracted far less attention. It is urgent to identify: how work-related mental health issues have evolved; the determinants of the issues; and, the key strategies/practices that mitigate them. More specifically, in economies undergoing rapid changes, such as radical structural transformation (e.g. industrialization, globalization, digitalization), economic recession or even crisis, or changing management culture (privatization, performance targets, casualization), mental health of the labour force can be seriously affected. However, how these macro-economic or work cultural changes have shocked labour force and resulted in new mental health issues, and how employers and policy makers should respond to such pressures, still remain to be resolved. This Research Topic calls for new empirical research on the strategies in addressing mental health issues at work. We aim to 1) provide new evidence on the impact of economic changes on labour force mental health; 2) identify innovative market or community solutions to mental health issues at work; 3) identify and evaluate employer interventions to address or prevent work-related mental health issues; 3) understand government policy responses and their effectiveness