Hybrid oscillator-based no-delay hip exoskeleton control for free walking assistance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Yang ◽  
Linghui Xu ◽  
Linfan Yu ◽  
Yuting Chen ◽  
Zehao Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limb ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Delay Compensation ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adaptive Oscillators ◽  
Force Peak ◽  
Gait Phase

Purpose Walking-aid exoskeletons can assist and protect effectively the group with lower limb muscle strength decline, workers, first responders and military personnel. However, there is almost no united control strategy that can effectively assist daily walking. This paper aims to propose a hybrid oscillators’ (HOs) model to adapt to irregular gait (IG) patterns (frequent alternation between walking and standing or rapid changing of walking speed, etc.) and generate compliant and no-delay assistive torque. Design/methodology/approach The proposed algorithm, HOs, combines adaptive oscillators (AOs) with phase oscillator through switching assistive mode depending on whether or not the AOs' predicting error of hip joint degree is exceeded our expectation. HOs can compensate for delay by predicting gait phase when in AOs mode. Several treadmill and free walking experiments are designed to test the adaptability and effectiveness of HOs model under IG. Findings The experimental results show that the assistive strategy based on the HOs is effective under IG patterns, and delay is compensated totally under quasiperiodic gait conditions where a smoother human–robot interaction (HRI) force and the reduction of HRI force peak are observed. Delay compensation is found very effective at improving the performance of the assistive exoskeleton. Originality/value A novel algorithm is proposed to improve the adaptability of a walking assist hip exoskeleton in daily walking as well as generate compliant, no-delay assistive torque when converging.

AI and libraries: trends and projections

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adetoun A. Oyelude
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Human Intelligence ◽  
Library Service ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Advanced Technologies

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the trends and projection for future use of artificial intelligence (AI) in libraries. AI technologies is the latest among the technologies being used in libraries. The technology has systems that have natural language processing, machine learning and pattern recognition capabilities that make service provision easier for libraries. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review is done, exploring blogs and wikis, to collect information on the ways in which AI is used and can be futuristically used in libraries. Findings This paper found that uses of AI in libraries entailed enhanced services such as content indexing, document matching, content mapping content summarization and many others. AI possibilities were also found to include improving the technology of gripping, localizing and human–robot interaction and also having artificial superintelligence, the hypothetical AI that surpasses human intelligence and abilities. Originality/value It is concluded that advanced technologies that AI are, will help librarians to open up new horizons and solve challenges that crop up in library service delivery.

Improving stability in physical human–robot interaction by estimating human hand stiffness and a vibration index

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feifei Bian ◽  
Danmei Ren ◽  
Ruifeng Li ◽  
Peidong Liang
Keyword(s):  
Time Delay ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Interaction Force ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Human Hand ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to eliminate instability which may occur when a human stiffens his arms in physical human–robot interaction by estimating the human hand stiffness and presenting a modified vibration index. Design/methodology/approach Human hand stiffness is first estimated in real time as a prior indicator of instability by capturing the arm configuration and modeling the level of muscle co-contraction in the human’s arms. A time-domain vibration index based on the interaction force is then modified to reduce the delay in instability detection. The instability is confirmed when the vibration index exceeds a given threshold. The virtual damping coefficient in admittance controller is adjusted accordingly to ensure stability in physical human–robot interaction. Findings By estimating the human hand stiffness and modifying the vibration index, the instability which may occur in stiff environment in physical human–robot interaction is detected and eliminated, and the time delay is reduced. The experimental results demonstrate significant improvement in stabilizing the system when the human operator stiffens his arms. Originality/value The originality is in estimating the human hand stiffness online as a prior indicator of instability by capturing the arm configuration and modeling the level of muscle co-contraction in the human’s arms. A modification of the vibration index is also an originality to reduce the time delay of instability detection.

Human robot interaction for manipulation tasks based on stroke gesture recognition

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 700-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajun Li ◽  
Jianguo Tao ◽  
Liang Ding ◽  
Haibo Gao ◽  
Zongquan Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gesture Recognition ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Recognition Accuracy ◽  
Parameter Extraction ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Extraction System ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend the usage of stroke gestures in manipulation tasks to make the interaction between human and robot more efficient. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, a set of stroke gestures is designed for typical manipulation tasks. A gesture recognition and parameter extraction system is proposed to exploit the information in stroke gestures drawn by the users. Findings The results show that the designed gesture recognition subsystem can reach a recognition accuracy of 99.00 per cent. The parameter extraction subsystem can successfully extract parameters needed for typical manipulation tasks with a success rate about 86.30 per cent. The system shows an acceptable performance in the experiments. Practical implications Using stroke gesture in manipulation tasks can make the transmission of human intentions to the robots more efficient. The proposed gesture recognition subsystem is based on convolutional neural network which is robust to different input. The parameter extraction subsystem can extract the spatial information encoded in stroke gestures. Originality/value The author designs stroke gestures for manipulation tasks which is an extension of the usage of stroke gestures. The proposed gesture recognition and parameter extraction system can make use of stroke gestures to get the type of the task and important parameters for the task simultaneously.

scholarly journals Improving human–robot interactions in hospitality settings

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galen R. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
User Requirements ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Property Management ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Levels ◽  
Autonomous Service

PurposeService robotics, a branch of robotics that entails the development of robots able to assist humans in their environment, is of growing interest in the hospitality industry. Designing effective autonomous service robots, however, requires an understanding of Human–Robot Interaction (HRI), a relatively young discipline dedicated to understanding, designing, and evaluating robotic systems for use by or with humans. HRI has not yet received sufficient attention in hospitality robotic design, much like Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) in property management system design in the 1980s. This article proposes a set of introductory HRI guidelines with implementation standards for autonomous hospitality service robots.Design/methodology/approachA set of key user-centered HRI guidelines for hospitality service robots were extracted from 52 research articles. These are organized into service performance categories to provide more context for their application in hospitality settings.FindingsBased on an extensive literature review, this article presents some HRI guidelines that may drive higher levels of acceptance of service robots in customer-facing situations. Deriving meaningful HRI guidelines requires an understanding of how customers evaluate service interactions with humans in hospitality settings and to what degree those will differ with service robots.Originality/valueRobots are challenging assumptions on how hospitality businesses operate. They are being increasingly deployed by hotels and restaurants to boost productivity and maintain service levels. Effective HRI guidelines incorporate user requirements and expectations in the design specifications. Compilation of such information for designers of hospitality service robots will offer a clearer roadmap for them to follow.

Design and fabrication of a lower limb exoskeleton to assist in stair ascending

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Payman Joudzadeh ◽  
Alireza Hadi ◽  
Bahram Tarvirdizadeh ◽  
Danial Borooghani ◽  
Khalil Alipour
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limb ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Stair Climbing ◽  
Robot Design ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lower Limb Exoskeleton ◽  
Knee Braces ◽  
Novel Design

Purpose This paper aims to deal with the development of a novel lower limb exoskeleton to assist disabled people in stair ascending. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, a novel design of a mixture of motors and cables has been proposed for users to wear them easily and show the application of the system in stair climbing. Findings One of the prominences of this study is the provided robot design where four joints are actuated with only two motors; each motor actuates either the knees or ankles. Another advantage of the designed system is that with motors placed in a backpack, the knee braces can be worn under clothes to be concealed. Finally, the system performance is evaluated using electromyography (EMG) signals showing 28 per cent reduction in energy consumption of related muscles. Originality/value This investigation deals with the development of a novel lower limb exoskeleton to assist disabled people in stair ascending.

The Pransky interview: Dr Cory Kidd, Founder and CEO at Catalia Health

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Pransky
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Industrial Robot ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Healthcare Applications ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institute Of Technology

Purpose The purpose of this paper is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry PhD-turned-entrepreneur regarding the evolution, commercialization and challenges of bringing a technological invention to market. Design/methodology/approach The interviewee is Dr Cory Kidd, an inventor, entrepreneur and leading practitioner in the field of human–robot interaction. Dr Kidd shares his 20-year journey of working at the intersection of healthcare and technology and how he applied innovative technologies toward solving large-scale consumer healthcare challenges. Findings Dr Kidd received his BS degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in Computer and Information Science & Engineering. Dr Kidd received his MS and PhD degrees at the MIT Media Lab in human–robot interaction. While there, he conducted studies that showed the psychological and clinical advantages of using a physical robot over screen-based interactions. While finishing his PhD in 2007, he founded his first company, Intuitive Automata, which created interactive coaches for weight loss. Though Intuitive Automata ceased operations in 2013, Dr Kidd harnessed his extensive knowledge of the healthcare business and the experiences from patient engagement and launched Catalia Health in 2014 with a new platform centered specifically around patient behavior change programs for chronic disease management. Originality/value Dr Kidd is a pioneer of social robotics and has developed groundbreaking technology for healthcare applications that combines artificial intelligence, psychology and medical best practices to deliver everyday care to patients who are managing chronic conditions. He holds patents, including one entitled Apparatus and Method for Assisting in Achieving Desired Behavior Patterns and in an Interactive Personal Health Promoting Robot. Dr Kidd was awarded the inaugural Wall Street Journal and Credit Suisse Technopreneur of the Year in 2010, which is meant to “honor the entry that best applies technology with the greatest potential for commercial success”. He is also the Director of Business Development for the nonprofit Silicon Valley Robotics and is an impact partner for Fresco Capital. He consults, mentors and serves as a Board Member and Advisor to several high-tech startups.

Kalman filter-based yaw angle estimation by fusing inertial and magnetic sensing: a case study using low cost sensors

Sensor Review ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Neto ◽  
Nuno Mendes ◽  
A. Paulo Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Kalman Filter ◽  
Inertial Sensor ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Magnetic Sensor ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Magnetic Sensing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reliable Estimation ◽  
Yaw Angle

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to achieve reliable estimation of yaw angles by fusing data from low-cost inertial and magnetic sensing. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, yaw angle is estimated by fusing inertial and magnetic sensing from a digital compass and a gyroscope, respectively. A Kalman filter estimates the error produced by the gyroscope. Findings – Drift effect produced by the gyroscope is significantly reduced and, at the same time, the system has the ability to react quickly to orientation changes. The system combines the best of each sensor, the stability of the magnetic sensor and the fast response of the inertial sensor. Research limitations/implications – The system does not present a stable behavior in the presence of large vibrations. Considerable calibration efforts are needed. Practical implications – Today, most of human–robot interaction technologies need to have the ability to estimate orientation, especially yaw angle, from small-sized and low-cost sensors. Originality/value – Existing methods for inertial and magnetic sensor fusion are combined to achieve reliable estimation of yaw angle. Experimental tests in a human–robot interaction scenario show the performance of the system.

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