Improving Motor Coordination in HRI with Bio-Inspired Controllers

International audienceGestural communication is an important aspect of HRI in social, assistance and rehabilitation robotics. Indeed, social synchrony is a key component of interpersonal interactions which affects the interaction at a behavioral level, as well as at a social level. It is therefore paramount for the robot to be able to adapt to its interaction partner, at the risk of experiencing an awkward interaction. Bio-inspired controllers endowed with plasticity mechanisms can be employed in order to make these interactions as natural and enjoyable as possible. Integrating adaptive properties can lead to the emergence of motor coordination and hence to social synchrony. A non-negligible aspect of the work consists in studying humans in HRI to understand human behavior better and design better interactions. On the long term, this could be quite useful for improved robot-assisted motor therapy

Robot-assisted therapy for upper limb impairments in cerebral palsy:A scoping review and suggestions for future research

A growing number of studies investigate the use of robotics therapy for motor (re)habilitation with children with cerebral palsy (CP). Most of these studies use functional robots in very repetitive sessions. While the therapy is effective, very few studies employ social robots, which appears to be a missed opportunity to design more compelling and enjoyable sessions for the children. In this article, we will review robot-assisted upper limb motor (re)habilitation for children with CP. Previous reviews of robot-assisted therapy for CP had mostly focused on lower limbs, or the review was made from a medical point of view, with the sole concern being the therapy's effectiveness. Here, we focus our review on robot-assisted upper limb (re)habilitation and address human-robot interaction considerations. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and IEEE databases and argue that although this area of research is promising and already effective, it would benefit from the inclusion of social robots for a more engaging and enjoyable experience. We suggest four scenarios that could be developed in this direction. The goal of this article is to highlight the relevance of the past work and encourage the development of new ideas where therapy will socially engage and motivate children.</p

Real Time Movement Classification in Versatile CPG Control

International audienceEveryday human tasks are composed of a succession of discrete and rhythmic movements. If we want robots to be able to interact appropriately , it appears paramount for them to be able to perform both types of movements too. Though Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) are usually employed for rhythmic movement generation, they are also able of producing discrete movements. In this paper , we present a classification method to distinguish rhythmic and discrete movements so that the CPG can switch from one mode to the other. Moreover, we introduce several new plasticity rules more suitable for discrete movements

CPG-based Controllers can Trigger the Emergence of Social Synchrony in Human-Robot Interactions

International audienceSynchronization is an indissociable part of social interactions between humans, especially in gestural communication. With the emergence of social robotics and assistance robots, it becomes paramount for robots to be socially accepted and for humans to be able to connect with them. As a consequence, synchronization mechanisms should be inherent to any robot controllers, allowing the adaption to the interacting partner in any rhythmic way necessary. In this paper, plastic Central Pattern Generators (CPG) have been implemented in the joints of the robot Pepper that has to learn to wave back at a human partner. Results show that the CPG-based controller leads to adaptive waving synchronized with the human partner, thus proving that the CPG-based controller can achieve synchronization

Comparative Study of Forced Oscillators for the Adaptive Generation of Rhythmic Movements in Robot Controllers

International audienceThe interest of Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) in robot motor coordination is universally recognized so much so that a lot of possibilities on different scales of modeling are nowadays available. While each method obviously has its advantages and drawbacks, some could be more suitable for human-robot interactions. In this paper, we compare three oscillator models: Matsuoka, Hopf and Rowat-Selverston models. These models are integrated to a control architecture for a robotic arm and evaluated in simulation during a simplified handshaking interaction which involves constrained rhythmic movements. Furthermore, Heb-bian plasticity mechanisms are integrated to the Hopf and Rowat-Selverston models which can incorporate such mechanisms, contrary to the Matsuoka. Results show that the Matsuoka oscillator is subpar in all aspects and for the two others, that plasticity improves synchronization and leads to a significant decrease of the power consumption

CPG-based Controllers can Generate Both Discrete and Rhythmic Movements

International audienceComplex tasks require the combination of both discrete and rhythmic movements. Though scientists do not yet agree on the neural architecture involved in both types and in the transition from one to the other, the importance of having robot controllers able to behave rhythmically and discretely is universally recognized. In this paper, a bio-inspired robot controller based on oscillating neurons is proposed to realize both discrete and rhythmic movements and easily transition from one to the other. It is shown that, under certain parameter conditions, the CPG controller behaves like a PID controller. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of controlling both discrete and rhythmic movements, the CPG is applied to the initiation of handshaking, namely, reach towards the human hand and start to shake it. Results show that this architecture is suitable for both discrete and rhythmic movements and can easily transition from one to the other

Real Time Movement Classification in Versatile CPG Control

International audienceEveryday human tasks are composed of a succession of discrete and rhythmic movements. If we want robots to be able to interact appropriately , it appears paramount for them to be able to perform both types of movements too. Though Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) are usually employed for rhythmic movement generation, they are also able of producing discrete movements. In this paper , we present a classification method to distinguish rhythmic and discrete movements so that the CPG can switch from one mode to the other. Moreover, we introduce several new plasticity rules more suitable for discrete movements

CPG-based Controllers can Trigger the Emergence of Social Synchrony in Human-Robot Interactions

International audienceSynchronization is an indissociable part of social interactions between humans, especially in gestural communication. With the emergence of social robotics and assistance robots, it becomes paramount for robots to be socially accepted and for humans to be able to connect with them. As a consequence, synchronization mechanisms should be inherent to any robot controllers, allowing the adaption to the interacting partner in any rhythmic way necessary. In this paper, plastic Central Pattern Generators (CPG) have been implemented in the joints of the robot Pepper that has to learn to wave back at a human partner. Results show that the CPG-based controller leads to adaptive waving synchronized with the human partner, thus proving that the CPG-based controller can achieve synchronization

Plastic CPG-based Robot Controllers for Human-Robot Rhythmic Interactions

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The Sound of Actuators in Children with ASD, Beneficial or Disruptive?

International audienceIt is often overlooked in human-robot gestural interactions that, robot produce sound when they move. That aspect might be either beneficial or detrimental to the interaction, but it should be taken into account, especially in the context of robot-assisted therapy. In this paper, we therefore considered sensory perception in the case of typically developing children and children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and designed a pilot study with twenty participants to evaluate the impact the sound of actuators has on a rhythmic gestural interaction. Participants were asked to perform a waving-like gesture back at a robot in three different conditions: with visual perception only, auditory perception only and both perceptions. We analyze coordination performance and focus of gaze in each condition. Preliminary results indicate that the sound of actuators might be beneficial for children with autism and only slightly disruptive for typically developing children