The primary goal of bionics is “to extend man’s physical and intellec-tual capabilities by prosthetic devices in the most general sense” (Von Gierke et al. 1970; Dario et al. 1993)
Hybrid Bionic Systems (HBSs) can be defined generically as systems that contain both technical (artificial) and biological components, or biological systems with artificial elements or subsystems
The basic assumption for designing new HBSs is to bring together neuroscience knowledge on sensory-motor control with robotic and interfacing technologies, while keeping the human person at the centre of the design approach
This is the ultimate goal of the NEUROBOTICS project: the fusion of NEUROscience and roBOTICS), an “Integrated Project” funded by the European Commission (IST-FET-contract no. 001917-2003) and aimed at encouraging neuroscientists and roboticists to work together for jointly developing new, high performance HBSs

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Purpose: The metabolic cost of walking increases when mass is added to the legs, but the effects of load magnitude and location on the energetics and biomechanics of walking are unclear. We hypothesized that with leg loading 1) net metabolic rate would be related to the moment of inertia of the leg (Ileg), 2) kinematics would be conserved, except for heavy foot loads, and 3) swing- phase sagittal-plane net muscle moments and swing-phase leg-muscle electromyography (EMG) would increase. Methods: Five adult males walked on a forcemeasuring treadmill at 1.25 mIsj1 with no load and with loads of 2 and 4 kg per foot and shank, 4 and 8 kg per thigh, and 4, 8, and 16 kg on the waist. We recorded metabolic rate and sagittal-plane kinematics and net muscle moments about the hip, knee, and ankle during the single-stance and swing phases, and EMG of key leg muscles. Results: Net metabolic rate during walking increased with load mass and more distal location and was correlated with Ileg (r2 = 0.43). Thigh loading was relatively inexpensive, helping to explain why the metabolic rate during walking is not strongly affected by body mass distribution. Kinematics, single-stance and swing-phase muscle moments, and EMG were similar while walking with no load or with waist, thigh, or shank loads. The increase in net metabolic rate with foot loading was associated with greater EMG of muscles that initiate leg swing and greater swing-phase muscle moments. Conclusions: Distal leg loads increase the metabolic rate required for swinging the leg. The increase in metabolic rate with more proximal loads may be attributable to a combination of supporting (via hip abduction muscles) and propagating the swing leg.

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With improvements in actuation technology and sensory systems, it is becoming increasingly feasible to create powered exoskeletal garments that can assist with the movement of human limbs. This class of robotics referred to as human-machine interfaces will one day be used for the rehabilitation of paralysed, damaged or weak upper and lower extremities. The focus of this project was the development of an exoskeletal interface for the rehabilitation of the hands. A novel sensor was designed for use in such a device. The sensor uses simple optical mechanisms centred on a spring to measure force and position simultaneously. In addition, the sensor introduces an elastic element between the actuator and its corresponding hand joint. This will allow series elastic actuation (SEA) to improve control and safely of the system. The Hand Rehabilitation Device requires multiple actuators. To stay within volume and weight constraints, it is therefore imperative to reduce the size, mass and efficiency of each actuator without losing power. A method was devised that allows small efficient actuating subunits to work together and produce a combined collective output. This work summation method was successfully implemented with Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) based actuators. The actuation, sensory, control system and human-machine interface concepts proposed were evaluated together using a single-joint electromechanical harness. This experimental setup was used with volunteer subjects to assess the potentials of a full-hand device to be used for therapy, assessment and function of the hand. The Rehabilitation Glove aims to bring significant new benefits for improving hand function, an important aspect of human independence. Furthermore, the developments in this project may one day be used for other parts of the body helping bring human-machine interface technology into the fields of rehabilitation and therapy.

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