scholarly journals A Review on Design of Upper Limb Exoskeletons

Robotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ahsan Gull ◽  
Shaoping Bai ◽  
Thomas Bak

Exoskeleton robotics has ushered in a new era of modern neuromuscular rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology research. The technology promises to improve the upper-limb functionalities required for performing activities of daily living. The exoskeleton technology is evolving quickly but still needs interdisciplinary research to solve technical challenges, e.g., kinematic compatibility and development of effective human–robot interaction. In this paper, the recent development in upper-limb exoskeletons is reviewed. The key challenges involved in the development of assistive exoskeletons are highlighted by comparing available solutions. This paper provides a general classification, comparisons, and overview of the mechatronic designs of upper-limb exoskeletons. In addition, a brief overview of the control modalities for upper-limb exoskeletons is also presented in this paper. A discussion on the future directions of research is included.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Qing Sun ◽  
Shuai Guo ◽  
Leigang Zhang

BACKGROUND: The definition of rehabilitation training trajectory is of great significance during rehabilitation training, and the dexterity of human-robot interaction motion provides a basis for selecting the trajectory of interaction motion. OBJECTIVE: Aimed at the kinematic dexterity of human-robot interaction, a velocity manipulability ellipsoid intersection volume (VMEIV) index is proposed for analysis, and the dexterity distribution cloud map is obtained with the human-robot cooperation space. METHOD: Firstly, the motion constraint equation of human-robot interaction is established, and the Jacobian matrix is obtained based on the speed of connecting rod. Then, the Monte Carlo method and the cell body segmentation method are used to obtain the collaborative space of human-robot interaction, and the VMEIV of human-robot interaction is solved in the cooperation space. Finally, taking the upper limb rehabilitation robot as the research object, the dexterity analysis of human-robot interaction is carried out by using the index of the approximate volume of the VMEIV. RESULTS: The results of the simulation and experiment have a certain consistency, which indicates that the VMEIV index is effective as an index of human-robot interaction kinematic dexterity. CONCLUSIONS: The VMEIV index can measure the kinematic dexterity of human-robot interaction, and provide a reference for the training trajectory selection of rehabilitation robot.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 19-25
Author(s):  
Wang Wendong ◽  
Li Hanhao ◽  
Xiao Menghan ◽  
Chu Yang ◽  
Yuan Xiaoqing ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Dalla Gasperina ◽  
Valeria Longatelli ◽  
Francesco Braghin ◽  
Alessandra Laura Giulia Pedrocchi ◽  
Marta Gandolla

Abstract Background: Appropriate training modalities for post-stroke upper-limb rehabilitation are key features for effective recovery after the acute event. This work presents a novel human-robot cooperative control framework that promotes compliant motion and renders different high-level human-robot interaction rehabilitation modalities under a unified low-level control scheme. Methods: The presented control law is based on a loadcell-based impedance controller provided with positive-feedback compensation terms for disturbances rejection and dynamics compensation. We developed an elbow flexion-extension experimental setup, and we conducted experiments to evaluate the controller performances. Seven high-level modalities, characterized by different levels of (i) impedance-based corrective assistance, (ii) weight counterbalance assistance, and (iii) resistance, have been defined and tested with 14 healthy volunteers.Results: The unified controller demonstrated suitability to promote good transparency and render compliant and high-impedance behavior at the joint. Superficial electromyography results showed different muscular activation patterns according to the rehabilitation modalities. Results suggested to avoid weight counterbalance assistance, since it could induce different motor relearning with respect to purely impedance-based corrective strategies. Conclusion: We proved that the proposed control framework could implement different physical human-robot interaction modalities and promote the assist-as-needed paradigm, helping the user to accomplish the task, while maintaining physiological muscular activation patterns. Future insights involve the extension to multiple degrees of freedom robots and the investigation of an adaptation control law that makes the controller learn and adapt in a therapist-like manner.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 172988141986318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Qiuzhi Song ◽  
Shitong Zhou ◽  
Jing Tang ◽  
Kezhong Chen ◽  
...  

In this article, a method of multi-connection load compensation and load information calculation for an upper-limb exoskeleton is proposed based on a six-axis force/torque sensor installed between the exoskeleton and the end effector. The proposed load compensation method uses a mounted sensor to measure the force and torque between the exoskeleton and load of different connections and adds a compensator to the controller to compensate the component caused by the load in the human–robot interaction force, so that the human–robot interaction force is only used to operate the exoskeleton. Therefore, the operator can manipulate the exoskeleton with the same interaction force to lift loads of different weights with a passive or fixed connection, and the human–robot interaction force is minimized. Moreover, the proposed load information calculation method can calculate the weight of the load and the position of its center of gravity relative to the exoskeleton and end effector accurately, which is necessary for acquiring the upper-limb exoskeleton center of gravity and stability control of whole-body exoskeleton. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, we performed load handling and operational stability experiments. The experimental results showed that the proposed method realized the expected function.


Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Pollard ◽  
Stephanie M. Lukin ◽  
Matthew Marge ◽  
Ashley Foots ◽  
Susan G. Hill

Industry, military, and academia are showing increasing interest in collaborative human-robot teaming in a variety of task contexts. Designing effective user interfaces for human-robot interaction is an ongoing challenge, and a variety of single and multiple-modality interfaces have been explored. Our work is to develop a bi-directional natural language interface for remote human-robot collaboration in physically situated tasks. When combined with a visual interface and audio cueing, we intend for the natural language interface to provide a naturalistic user experience that requires little training. Building the language portion of this interface requires first understanding how potential users would speak to the robot. In this paper, we describe our elicitation of minimally-constrained robot-directed language, observations about the users’ language behavior, and future directions for constructing an automated robotic system that can accommodate these language needs.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Qiaolian Xie ◽  
Qiaoling Meng ◽  
Yue Dai ◽  
Qingxin Zeng ◽  
Yuanjie Fan ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Upper limb rehabilitation robots have become an important piece of equipment in stroke rehabilitation. Human-robot coupling (HRC) dynamics play a key role in the control of rehabilitation robots to improve human-robot interaction. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to study the methods of modeling and analysis of HRC dynamics to realize more accurate dynamic control of upper limb rehabilitation robots. METHODS: By the analysis of force interaction between the human arm and the upper limb rehabilitation robot, the HRC torque is achieved by summing up the robot torque and the human arm torque. The HRC torque and robot torque of a 2-DOF upper limb rehabilitation robot (FLEXO-Arm) are solved by Lagrangian equation and step-by-step dynamic parameters identification method. RESULTS: The root mean square (RMS) is used to evaluate the accuracy of the HRC torque and the robot torque calculated by the parameter identification, and the error of both is about 10%. Moreover, the HRC torque and the robot torque are compared with the actual torque measured by torque sensors. The error of the robot torque is more than twice the HRC. Therefore, the HRC torque is more accurate than the actual torque. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed HRC dynamics effectively achieves more accurate dynamic control of upper limb rehabilitation robots.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Alenljung ◽  
Jessica Lindblom ◽  
Rebecca Andreasson ◽  
Tom Ziemke

Socially interactive robots are expected to have an increasing importance in human society. For social robots to provide long-term added value to people's lives, it is of major importance to stress the need for positive user experience (UX) of such robots. The human-centered view emphasizes various aspects that emerge in the interaction between humans and robots. However, a positive UX does not appear by itself but has to be designed for and evaluated systematically. In this paper, the focus is on the role and relevance of UX in human-robot interaction (HRI) and four trends concerning the role and relevance of UX related to socially interactive robots are identified, and three challenges related to its evaluation are also presented. It is argued that current research efforts and directions are not sufficient in HRI research, and that future research needs to further address interdisciplinary research in order to achieve long-term success of socially interactive robots.


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