The NeXOS project was initially aimed at developing a low cost rehabilitation and physiotherapy system for the lower limbs which was capable of being deployed within a user’s home environment. The design, development and implementation of the prototype system specifically identified the need to effectively manage the communications between the various members of the research team as well as the engagement with the target user groups. This led to the definition by the team of new means and methods of deployment for such systems. However, the lack of clear information regarding the market potential for systems such as NeXOS raised a number of generic questions relating to issues associated with the identification of the most effective use of technology. The paper sets out and considers the general issues associated with the design and implementation of the NeXOS prototype and then discusses the resulting generic issues and questions in the context of automated and robot approaches to physiotherapy as a whole.

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A «muscle suit» that will provide muscular support for the paralyzed or those otherwise unable to move unaided is developed as a wearable robot. The lack of a metal frame and use of McKibben artificial muscle allow the muscle suit to be lightweight, making it realistic to use in daily life. To overcome the basic concept of the muscle suit, the armor-type muscle suit is proposed and the abduction motion is realized. However, because of the difficulty in implementing all motion for the upper limb by the armor-type muscle suit, the new structure with the mechanical joints and hard frame is applied and all motion is achieved.

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For many years, the production of intensively reared crustaceans in the United States has been assumed to be an economically attractive proposition. In the late 1970’s profitable culture of Homarus in the United States was believed possible upon the development of very large and technologically sophisticated facilities. Until recently, however, commercial development could not proceed due to the lack of essential biological information on reproduction and nutrition which would allow for the application of cost saving technology. Recently it has been shown that egg production in the female lobster can be induced by proper photoperiod manipulation. This finding suggests that with appropriate management practices the commercial culturist could be assured of a reliable supply of seed stock throughout the year. Development of a formulated pelletized diet which supports the growth of juvenile lobsters to adulthood is another recent advance. Although the rate of growth on this laboratory ration is still less than that achieved on a diet of natural food items, this ration serves as a foundation from which to proceed in the development of practical feeds. In addition to refining reproductive control and furthering feed development, at least three additional steps are seen as necessary before the potential of commercial lobster aquaculture can be reliably predicted. First, the existing economic model needs to be examined in light of research which has taken place since its original conception. It is likely that such an effort would lead to a refining of current ideas regarding commercial culture. Second, additional biological research is required to understand the nature of space restriction on growth. Reduction of the space requirement will undoubtedly allow for significant savings in the capital required for commercial facilities. Finally, it would appear to be prudent to validate an improved economic model at a scale appropriate to the envisioned commercial operation.

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A «muscle suit» that provides muscular support for the paralyzed or those otherwise unable to move unaided is being developed as a wearable robot. The lack of a metal frame and use of McKibben artificial muscle allow the muscle suit to be lightweight, making it realistic to use in daily life. Although all motion for the upper limb by the armor-type muscle suit with the mechanical joints and hard frame is realized, shoulder joints has difficulty in smooth motion because of DOF limitation. To overcome the limitation, new link mechanism is proposed and smooth motion for shoulder is achieved.

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