The Middlesex University rehabilitation robot

This paper outlines the historical developments of Wheelchair-Mounted Robot Arms (WMRA's) and then focuses on the ongoing research at Middlesex to develop a low-cost aid to daily living for users with high-level quadriplegia. A detailed review is given explaining the design specification. It describes the construction of the robotic device and its control architecture. The prototype robot used several gesture recognition and other input systems. The prototype has been tested on disabled and non-disabled users with positive feedback. They observed that it was easy to use, but issues about speed of operation were resolved after further development. The robot has a payload of greater than 1kg with a maximum reach of 0.7–0.9m. Published by the Taylor & Francis Publishing Group, this publication is one of the only journals to cover the multi-disciplinary area of medical technology research. Currently, research bids are being formulated with the School of Computing Science to continue this research

Personal Autonomy Rehabilitation in Home Environments by a Portable Assistive Robot

Increasingly disabled and elderly people with mobility problems want to live autonomously in their home environment. They are motivated to use robotic aids to perform tasks by themselves, avoiding permanent nurse or family assistant supervision. They must find means to rehabilitate their abilities to perform daily life activities (DLAs), such as eating, shaving, or drinking. These means may be provided by robotic aids that incorporate possibilities and methods to accomplish common tasks, aiding the user in recovery of partial or complete autonomy. Results are highly conditioned by the system's usability and potential. The developed portable assistive robot ASIBOT helps users perform most of these tasks in common living environments. Minimum adaptations are needed to provide the robot with mobility throughout the environment. The robot can autonomously climb from one surface to another, fixing itself to the best place to perform each task. When the robot is attached to its wheelchair, it can move along with it as a bundle. This paper presents the work performed with the ASIBOT in the area of rehabilitation robotics. First, a brief description of the ASIBOT system is given. A description of tests that have been performed with the robot and several impaired users is given. Insight into how these experiences have influenced our research efforts, especially, in home environments, is also included. A description of the test bed that has been developed to continue research on performing DLAs by the use of robotic aids, a kitchen environment, is given. Relevant conclusions are also included.This work has been supported by the CAM Project S2009/DPI-1559/ROBOCITY2030 I

Design and Development of Assistive Robots for Close Interaction with People with Disabilities

People with mobility and manipulation impairments wish to live and perform tasks as independently as possible; however, for many tasks, compensatory technology does not exist, to do so. Assistive robots have the potential to address this need. This work describes various aspects of the development of three novel assistive robots: the Personal Mobility and Manipulation Appliance (PerMMA), the Robotic Assisted Transfer Device (RATD), and the Mobility Enhancement Robotic Wheelchair (MEBot). PerMMA integrates mobility with advanced bi-manual manipulation to assist people with both upper and lower extremity impairments. The RATD is a wheelchair mounted robotic arm that can lift higher payloads and its primary aim is to assist caregivers of people who cannot independently transfer from their electric powered wheelchair to other surfaces such as a shower bench or toilet. MEBot is a wheeled robot that has highly reconfigurable kinematics, which allow it to negotiate challenging terrain, such as steep ramps, gravel, or stairs. A risk analysis was performed on all three robots which included a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and a Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) to identify potential risks and inform strategies to mitigate them. Identified risks or PerMMA include dropping sharp or hot objects. Critical risks identified for RATD included tip over, crush hazard, and getting stranded mid-transfer, and risks for MEBot include getting stranded on obstacles and tip over. Lastly, several critical factors, such as early involvement of people with disabilities, to guide future assistive robot design are presented

Optimization for Commercialization of A Two Degree of Freedom Powered Arm Orthosis

In the United States, more than 18 million people suffer from upper extremity injury. This population is in need of a device both to aid in the completion of activities of daily living (eating and grooming), as well as to provide daily muscular therapy. To assist persons suffering from disabling upper extremity neuromuscular diseases, this thesis concerned the redesign of a powered arm brace from a proof-of-concept design to a more functional, marketable product. The principles of Design for Manufacturability and Assembly (DFMA) were employed as part of the design methodology to create a product that could be scaled into production. Additionally, numerical analyses including Finite Element Analysis (FEA) were completed to prove the both the safety and structural integrity of the orthosis in computer simulations. The design was then successfully tested with marked improvement over the previous design, including a 58% reduction in weight, decreased manufacturing costs, and a significant improvement in functionality and comfort

Electromechanical System Integration for a Powered Upper Extremity Orthosis

Wearable robotics for assistance and rehabilitation are not yet considered commercially mainstream products, and as a result have not yet seen advanced controls systems and interfaces. Consequently, the available technology is mostly adapted from systems used in parallel technologies, rather than custom applications intended for human use. This study concerns itself with the design and development of a custom control system for a 2-degree of freedom powered upper extremity orthosis capable of driving elbow flexion/extension 135º and humeral rotation 95º . The orthosis has been evaluated for use as both a long-term assistive technology device for persons with disabilities, and as a short-term rehabilitative tool for persons recovering injury. The target demographics for such a device vary in age, cognitive ability and physical function, thus requiring several input parameters requiring consideration. This study includes a full evaluation of the potential users of the device, as well as parameter considerations that are required during the design phase. The final control system is capable of driving each DOF independently or simultaneously, for a more realistic and natural coupled-motion, with proportional control by pulse-width modulation. The dual-axis joystick interface wirelessly transmits to the 1.21 pound control pack which houses a custom microcontroller-driven PCB and 1800 milliamp-hour lithium-ion rechargeable battery capable of delivering 4 hours of running time. Upon integration with the 2 DOF orthosis device, a user may complete full range of motion with up to 5 pounds in their hand in less than 7 seconds, providing full functionality to complete acts of daily living, thus improving quality of life

Electric Wheelchair Hybrid Operating System Coordinated with Working Range of a Robotic Arm

Electric wheelchair-mounted robotic arms can help patients with disabilities to perform their activities in daily living (ADL). Joysticks or keypads are commonly used as the operating interface of Wheelchair-mounted robotic arms. Under different scenarios, some patients with upper limb disabilities such as finger contracture cannot operate such interfaces smoothly. Recently, manual interfaces for different symptoms to operate the wheelchair-mounted robotic arms are being developed. However, the stop the wheelchairs in an appropriate position for the robotic arm grasping task is still not easy. To reduce the individual’s burden in operating wheelchair in narrow spaces and to ensure that the chair always stops within the working range of a robotic arm, we propose here an operating system for an electric wheelchair that can automatically drive itself to within the working range of a robotic arm by capturing the position of an AR marker via a chair-mounted camera. Meanwhile, the system includes an error correction model to correct the wheelchair’s moving error. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system by running the wheelchair and simulating the robotic arm through several courses