A formal methodology for avoiding hyperstaticity when connecting an exoskeleton to a human member

International audienceThe design of a robotic exoskeleton often focuses on replicating the kinematics of the human limb that it is connected to. However, human joint kinematics is so complex that in practice, the kinematics of artificial exoskeletons fails to reproduce it exactly. This discrepancy results in hyperstaticity. Namely, uncontrolled interaction forces appear. In this paper, we investigate the problem of connecting an exoskeleton to a human member while avoiding hyperstaticity; to do so, we propose to add passive mechanisms at each connection point. We thus introduces a formal methodology for avoiding hyperstaticity when connecting wearable robotic structures to the human body. First, analyzing the twist spaces generated by these fixation passive mechanisms, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for a given global isostaticity condition to be respected. Then, we derive conditions on the number of Degrees of Freedom (DoFs) to be freed at the different fixations, under full kinematic rank assumption. We finally apply the general methodology to the particular case of a 4 DoF shoulder-elbow exoskeleton. Experimental results allow to show an improvement in transparency brought by the passive mechanism fixations

A methodology to design kinematics of fixations between an orthosis and a human member

International audienceThe design of robotic orthoses focuses strongly on replicating kinematics of human limb. However, often sophisticated mechanisms which attempt at reproducing complex kinematics of human joints fails in adapting to geometrical variations of subjects sizes and eccentricities. One major that arrises from this mismatching is an occurrence of hyperstaticity induced by the uncontrolled interaction forces. In this paper, we take the point of view of statics to investigate the force transmission problem, which is required for a fine force control. The main result of this study focuses on designing fixations between the orthosis and the human limb that provide additional degrees of freedom. The method involves two steps. Firstly, a set of possible solutions with respect to the isostaticity criterion is derived. Then, among these possible solutions, a set of design rules considering physiological aspects of transmitting forces to human limbs is used to select a preferred configuration. As an example, the method is applied to an existing 4 active DOF arm orthosis

A Method for measuring the upper limb motion and computing a compatible exoskeleton trajectory

International audienceThis paper deals with the problem of computing trajectories for an exoskeleton that match a motion recorded on a given subject. Literature suggests that this problem can be solved by reconstructing the subject's joint motion using one of the numerous models available, and then feeding the exoskeleton with the joint trajectories. This is founded on the assumption that the exoskeleton kinematics reproduces the human kinematics. In practice, though, mismatches are unavoidable and lead to inaccuracies. We thus developed a method that is primarily based on an appropriate mechanical design: passive mechanisms are used to connect the exoskeleton with splints wore by the subject, in such a way that, within the workspace, there always exists a posture of the exoskeleton compatible with a given position and orientation of the splints. The trajectory computing method, by itself, consists of recording the position and orientation of the splints thanks to a conventional 3D motion tracker and to exploit standard robotics tools in order to compute an exoskeleton posture compatible with the measured human posture. Conclusive experimental results involving an existing 4 DoF upper-limb exoskeleton are shown

Towards unlocking the full potential of Multileaf Collimators

International audienceA central problem in the delivery of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) using a multileaf collimator (MLC) relies on fi nding a series of leaves confi gurations that can be shaped with the MLC to properly deliver a given treatment. In this paper, we analyse, from an algorithmic point of view, the power of using dual-layer MLCs and Rotating Collimators for this purpose

Anisotropic self-affine properties of experimental fracture surfaces

The scaling properties of post-mortem fracture surfaces of brittle (silica glass), ductile (aluminum alloy) and quasi-brittle (mortar and wood) materials have been investigated. These surfaces, studied far from the initiation, were shown to be self-affine. However, the Hurst exponent measured along the crack direction is found to be different from the one measured along the propagation direction. More generally, a complete description of the scaling properties of these surfaces call for the use of the 2D height-height correlation function that involves three exponents zeta = 0.75, beta = 0.6 and z = 1.25 independent of the material considered as well as of the crack growth velocity. These exponents are shown to correspond to the roughness, growth and dynamic exponents respectively, as introduced in interface growth models. They are conjectured to be universal.Comment: 12 page

How can human motion prediction increase transparency?

International audienceA major issue in the field of human-robot interaction for assistance to manipulation is transparency. This basic feature qualifies the capacity for a robot to follow human movements without any human-perceptible resistive forces. In this paper we address the issue of human motion prediction in order to increase the transparency of a robotic manipulator. Our aim is not to predict the motion itself, but to study how this prediction can be used to improve the robot transparency. For this purpose, we have designed a setup for performing basic planar manipulation tasks involving movements that are demanded to the subject and thus easily predictible. Moreover, we have developed a general controller which takes a predicted trajectory (recorded from offline free motion experiments) as an input and feeds the robot motors with a weighted sum of three controllers: torque feedforward, variable stiffness control and force feedback control. Subjects were then asked to perform the same task but with or without the robot assistance (which was not visible to the subject), and with several sets of gains for the controller tuning. First results seems to indicate that when a predictive controller with open loop torque feedforward is used, in conjunction with force-feeback control, the interaction forces are minimized. Therefore, the transparency is increased

La levure Geotrichum candidum (taxonomie, biodiversité et génome)

Geotrichum candidum est une levure hémiascomycète ubiquitaire longtemps considérée comme un champignon filamenteux. C est l une des levures les plus fréquemment trouvées dans les fromages dans les quelles elle contribue à l affinage. Dans le cadre du projet ANR ALIA Food Microbiomes en partenariat avec des industriels fromagers et producteur de levain, nous avons caractérisé l espèce G. candidum par une étude phylogénétique et placé de manière non ambigüe G. candidum parmi les levures hémiascomètes. Une analyse MLST a permis de séparer les souches étudiées en deux groupes. Le premier contient essentiellement des souches environnementales tandis que le second ne contient que des souches isolé du fromage. Cela suggère une certaine sélection ou spécialisation d un groupe de souche dans la fabrication du fromage. Une méthode de typage inter LTR plus discriminante a permis de typer l ensemble des souches et peut fournir aux industriels un outil robuste pour le suivi d une souche en production. Le génome de G. candidum CLIB 918 = ATCC 204307 a été séquencé. Les premières analyses ont mis en évidence des discontinuités évolutives parmi les gènes qui le composent. Parmi les 6802 gènes identifiés, 315 gènes présentent des orthologues chez les champignons filamenteux et non chez les levures. Cela suggère que durant l évolution, G. candidum a conservé un grand nombre de gènes qui a été perdu chez les autres levures ou en a reçu certain par transfert horizontal de gènes. L existence de ce même type de gènes chez d autres levures ayant une position basale dans l arbre des hémiascomycètes, suggère que G. candidum et ces levures ont une position intermédiaire lors de la transition évolutive champignon vers levure. Il est à noter que certains d entre eux sont impliqués dans le métabolisme et pourraient jouer un rôle dans l adaptation de cette levure à la fabrication du fromage.Geotrichum candidum is a hemiascomycetous yeast frequently found in the environment and foodstuffs. It is one of the main yeasts in cheese and it is widely used as adjunct culture in the maturation of cheese. Within ANR project ALIA Food Microbiomes in partnership with industry, we characterized the species the species G. candidum by a multigene phylogenetic study. MLST analysis allowed us to separate the studied strains into two groups. The first contains mainly environmental strains while the second contains only strains isolated from cheese. This suggests a specialization or a selection of a group of strains within industry. We developed a typing method by inter LTR profiles, which can provide a robust tool for an industrial monitoring of strains. The genome of G. candidum CLIB 918 = ATCC 204307 was sequenced. Preliminary analyses revealed evolutionary discontinuities among genes. 6802 genes where identified in which 315 genes have orthologs in filamentous fungi and not in yeast. This suggests that during evolution, G. candidum has retained a large number of genes which have been lost in other yeasts or has received some by horizontal gene transfer. The existence of this other yeasts also having a basal position in hemiascomycetous tree suggests that G. candidum and these other yeasts have an intermediate position during the evolutionary transition fungus to yeast. It is noteworthy that some of them are involved in the metabolism and may play a role in the adaptation of the yeast to the cheese environment.PARIS11-SCD-Bib. électronique (914719901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Reciprocal Kinematic Control: using human-robot dual adaptation to control upper limb assistive devices

International audienc