scholarly journals Preliminary System and Hardware Design for Guardian, a Low-cost Automatic Pill Dispenser with Pneumatic Technology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaiwen Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Development Process ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Hardware Design ◽  
Cylindrical Body ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Robotic Arm ◽  
Core Technology ◽  
Pneumatic Technology

This paper presents on-going progress on Guardian, a low-cost automatic pill dispenser aimed to help the elderly community to take their medication on time. The device is composed of a cylindrical body with a pneumatically powered system and rotating robotic arm in the center column as its core technology. This information in the paper is meant to record the development process that led to the filing of a provisional patent USPTO 15964875 (Application Number).

scholarly journals A Feasibility Study of the Use of Smartwatches in Wearable Fall Detection Systems

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2254
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier González-Cañete ◽  
Eduardo Casilari
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Fall Detection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Battery Life ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Battery Lifetime ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Operational Aspects

Over the last few years, the use of smartwatches in automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has aroused great interest in the research of new wearable telemonitoring systems for the elderly. In contrast with other approaches to the problem of fall detection, smartwatch-based FDSs can benefit from the widespread acceptance, ergonomics, low cost, networking interfaces, and sensors that these devices provide. However, the scientific literature has shown that, due to the freedom of movement of the arms, the wrist is usually not the most appropriate position to unambiguously characterize the dynamics of the human body during falls, as many conventional activities of daily living that involve a vigorous motion of the hands may be easily misinterpreted as falls. As also stated by the literature, sensor-fusion and multi-point measurements are required to define a robust and reliable method for a wearable FDS. Thus, to avoid false alarms, it may be necessary to combine the analysis of the signals captured by the smartwatch with those collected by some other low-power sensor placed at a point closer to the body’s center of gravity (e.g., on the waist). Under this architecture of Body Area Network (BAN), these external sensing nodes must be wirelessly connected to the smartwatch to transmit their measurements. Nonetheless, the deployment of this networking solution, in which the smartwatch is in charge of processing the sensed data and generating the alarm in case of detecting a fall, may severely impact on the performance of the wearable. Unlike many other works (which often neglect the operational aspects of real fall detectors), this paper analyzes the actual feasibility of putting into effect a BAN intended for fall detection on present commercial smartwatches. In particular, the study is focused on evaluating the reduction of the battery life may cause in the watch that works as the core of the BAN. To this end, we thoroughly assess the energy drain in a prototype of an FDS consisting of a smartwatch and several external Bluetooth-enabled sensing units. In order to identify those scenarios in which the use of the smartwatch could be viable from a practical point of view, the testbed is studied with diverse commercial devices and under different configurations of those elements that may significantly hamper the battery lifetime.

Design of Human Machine Interface Based on ARM and Linux

2012 ◽  
Vol 241-244 ◽  
pp. 2714-2717
Author(s):  
Kun Zhang ◽  
Xi Wei Peng
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Hardware Design ◽  
Control Unit ◽  
Embedded Linux ◽  
Human Machine Interface ◽  
Device Drivers ◽  
Machine Interface ◽  
Micro Control Unit

In order to provide more convenient options for users and developers, the design of Human Machine Interface (HMI) based on ARM and embedded Linux is put forward. It makes full use of multiple peripherals of ARM and flexibility of Linux OS. Firstly, hardware design of the HMI system is presented. Then methods of embedded Linux transplanting and the device drivers programming are discussed. Finally, running results and applications of the designed HMI are considered. The design combines the features of traditional HMI and Micro Control Unit (MCU) HMI, including low cost, rich interfaces and easy programming.

scholarly journals Hobbit: Providing Fall Detection and Prevention for the Elderly in the Real World

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Bajones ◽  
David Fischinger ◽  
Astrid Weiss ◽  
Daniel Wolf ◽  
Markus Vincze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Fall Detection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Service Robot ◽  
Emergency Situations

We present the robot developed within the Hobbit project, a socially assistive service robot aiming at the challenge of enabling prolonged independent living of elderly people in their own homes. We present the second prototype (Hobbit PT2) in terms of hardware and functionality improvements following first user studies. Our main contribution lies within the description of all components developed within the Hobbit project, leading to autonomous operation of 371 days during field trials in Austria, Greece, and Sweden. In these field trials, we studied how 18 elderly users (aged 75 years and older) lived with the autonomously interacting service robot over multiple weeks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a multifunctional, low-cost service robot equipped with a manipulator was studied and evaluated for several weeks under real-world conditions. We show that Hobbit’s adaptive approach towards the user increasingly eased the interaction between the users and Hobbit. We provide lessons learned regarding the need for adaptive behavior coordination, support during emergency situations, and clear communication of robotic actions and their consequences for fellow researchers who are developing an autonomous, low-cost service robot designed to interact with their users in domestic contexts. Our trials show the necessity to move out into actual user homes, as only there can we encounter issues such as misinterpretation of actions during unscripted human-robot interaction.

scholarly journals An Association of Quality of Life and Ageing Perceptions Among Community Dwelling Older Adults in Uganda

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Louise -Onoria ◽  
Raymond Odokonyero ◽  
Bruno Giordani ◽  
Dickens Akena ◽  
Emmanuel Mwesiga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Positive Perception

Abstract Background: Uganda’s population, though, largely characterized by young people, has seen the number of people aged 60 and over grow from 686,000 twenty years ago, to 1,433,596 in 2014. Effective caring for the well-being of this population requires strategic and deliberate planning that involves quality of life (QoL) assessments. QoL assessments among the elderly are important in evaluating the efficacy of strategies, such as health interventions, welfare programs, health care, and well-being of the elderly. However, elderly in Uganda face several challenges, ranging from loneliness, poor housing, lack of social and financial support, and poor health. These may negatively affect older persons’ quality of life and consequently their perceptions and attitudes towards aging. Methods: The study was carried out in 2019 in the communities of Nansana and Busukuma town councils in Wakiso district, Uganda. The participants were 380 people 60 years and older. To establish the association between perceptions of ageing and QoL, this study utilized a locally adapted version of the Older Person’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (OPQOL) and the Brief Ageing Perceptions Questionnaire (B-APQ). The OPQOL assesses three domains of QoL: Health QoL (HQoL); Social economic QoL (SQoL); and Psychosocial QoL (PQoL). The B-APQ assesses perceptions about physical age, participation in social activities, and perceptions about ability to regulate emotions as one ages. Pearson’s Chi-square tests were used to characterize the relationship between the perceptions and quality of life.Results: The majority of the respondents, 61% (95%CI 56.7-64.8), had negative perceptions towards ageing. Eighty six percent had poor HQoL, 90% poor SQoL and 83% poor PQoL. There was a significant association between good HQoL and positive perception about participation in social activities (X2 = 7.3670, P = 0.007) as well as with positive perception on regulation of emotions (X2 = 18.1803, P<0.001). There was a significant association between good SQoL and positive perception about participation in social activities (X2 = 5.3472, P = 0.021), as well with positive perception on regulation of emotions (X2 = 10.5128, P<0.001). A significant association between good PQoL and positive perception on regulation of emotions (X2 = 9.2414, P= 0.002).Conclusion: Positive perceptions of ageing are associated with good QoL. Directly addressing perceptions of ageing could be a low cost and effective strategy to improve the QoL of older persons in SSA

scholarly journals A Proposal for Automatic Fruit Harvesting by Combining a Low Cost Stereovision Camera and a Robotic Arm

Sensors ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 11557-11579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davinia Font ◽  
Tomàs Pallejà ◽  
Marcel Tresanchez ◽  
David Runcan ◽  
Javier Moreno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Robotic Arm

Low-cost computer mouse for the elderly or disabled in Taiwan

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-C. Chen ◽  
W.-L. Chen ◽  
B.-N. Chen ◽  
Y.-Y. Shih ◽  
J.-S. Lai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Computer Mouse

A Low Cost Pupillometry Approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Sergios Petridis ◽  
Theodoros Giannakopoulos ◽  
Constantine D. Spyropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Elderly Population ◽  
Emotional State ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Monitoring Methods ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Pupil Center ◽  
Web Camera ◽  
The Face ◽  
Source Of Information

The need for low-cost health monitoring is increasing with the continuous increase of the elderly population. In this context, unobtrusive audiovisual monitoring methods can be of great importance. More particularly, the diameter of the pupil is a valuable source of information, since, apart from pathological cases, it can reveal the emotional state, the fatigue and the ageing. To allow for unobtrusive monitoring to gain acceptance, one should seek for efficient methods of monitoring using common low-cost hardware. This paper describes a method for monitoring pupil sizes using a common, low-cost web camera in real time. The proposed approach detects the face and the eyes area at first stage. Subsequently, optimal iris and sclera location and radius, modeled as ellipses, are found using efficient spatial filtering. As a final step, the pupil center and radius is estimated by optimal filtering within the area of the iris. Experimental results show both the efficiency and the effectiveness of our approach.

scholarly journals Differentiation of Patients with Balance Insufficiency (Vestibular Hypofunction) versus Normal Subjects Using a Low-Cost Small Wireless Wearable Gait Sensor

Biosensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tam Nguyen ◽  
Jonathan Young ◽  
Amanda Rodriguez ◽  
Steven Zupancic ◽  
Donald Lie
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Balance Disorders ◽  
Remote Sensor ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Gait Index ◽  
Dynamic Gait

Balance disorders present a significant healthcare burden due to the potential for hospitalization or complications for the patient, especially among the elderly population when considering intangible losses such as quality of life, morbidities, and mortalities. This work is a continuation of our earlier works where we now examine feature extraction methodology on Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) tests and machine learning classifiers to differentiate patients with balance problems versus normal subjects on an expanded cohort of 60 patients. All data was obtained using our custom designed low-cost wireless gait analysis sensor (WGAS) containing a basic inertial measurement unit (IMU) worn by each subject during the DGI tests. The raw gait data is wirelessly transmitted from the WGAS for real-time gait data collection and analysis. Here we demonstrate predictive classifiers that achieve high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in distinguishing abnormal from normal gaits. These results show that gait data collected from our very low-cost wearable wireless gait sensor can effectively differentiate patients with balance disorders from normal subjects in real-time using various classifiers. Our ultimate goal is to be able to use a remote sensor such as the WGAS to accurately stratify an individual’s risk for falls.

scholarly journals A Novel Robotic Arm Design for Small Scale Industries Using myRIO

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.6) ◽  
pp. 257
Author(s):  
M. Srilatha ◽  
R. Hemalatha
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Robotic Arm ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Complete Automation ◽  
Human Effort ◽  
Small Scale Industries

In small-scale industries, under extreme working conditions, personnel are frequently involved in lifting and carrying raw materials, which is hazardous at times. Robot, a machine with intelligence can perform the same task with the help of control instructions fed by computer or remote control. Technological development in the area of robotics made it possible to design robotic arm with the same degree of precision as a replacement to the human intervention. This will introduce automation in small-scale industries, which saves time, reduces human effort and expenditure in production. Further, this will be a starting point for complete automation of entire process, which can be expensive and complicated. NI LabVIEW along with NI-myRIO can provide a better solution in designing a more precise and accurate robot in a very low cost, which is affordable by small-scale industries. NI-myRIO is used to generate and acquire signals for controlling and processing. Further it has an inbuilt processor and FPGA which has many reconfigurable analogue and digital features.  

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