Collection and analysis of human upper limbs motion features for collaborative robotic applications

Background: The technologies of Industry 4.0 are increasingly promoting an operation of human motion prediction for improvement of the collaboration between workers and robots. The purposes of this study were to fuse the spatial and inertial data of human upper limbs for typical industrial pick and place movements and to analyze the collected features from the future perspective of collaborative robotic applications and human motion prediction algorithms. (2) Methods: Inertial Measurement Units and a stereophotogrammetric system were adopted to track the upper body motion of 10 healthy young subjects performing pick and place operations at three different heights. From the obtained database, 10 features were selected and used to distinguish among pick and place gestures at different heights. Classification performances were evaluated by estimating confusion matrices and F1-scores. (3) Results: Values on matrices diagonals were definitely greater than those in other positions. Furthermore, F1-scores were very high in most cases. (4) Conclusions: Upper arm longitudinal acceleration and markers coordinates of wrists and elbows could be considered representative features of pick and place gestures at different heights, and they are consequently suitable for the definition of a human motion prediction algorithm to be adopted in effective collaborative robotics industrial applications

Estimation of Force Effectiveness and Symmetry During Kranking Training

The third Sustainable Development Goal of the 2030 Agenda promotes healthy lives and well-being for all people of all ages. A good way to ensure a healthy lifestyle is to perform daily physical activity. Among different exercises of cardiovascular training, kranking is a program that involves arm-cranking gesture performed on a stationary handbike. In order to correctly perform this activity, biomechanical parameters have to be monitored. The present pilot study aimed at developing a setup for the quantitative evaluation of the force effectiveness and symmetry during different conditions of upper limbs kranking. One healthy young subject performed different tasks of steady-state cycling on varying cadence, braking torque, and motion pattern. Strain gauges positioned on the handles of a commercial arm-cranking machine allowed the estimation of total and effective forces applied by the user. Moreover, an optical motion capture system was adopted to evaluate the kinematics of the upper limbs during the movement. Comparing the total and the effective forces, the effectiveness of the gesture was evaluated for all testing conditions. Overall, results suggest that the developed setup is adequate to efficaciously identify possible alterations of performance parameters during upper limbs kranking