This paper proposes an electromyography (EMG) signal based control method for a seven degrees of freedom (7DOF) upper-limb motion assist exoskeleton robot (SUEFUL-7). The SUEFUL-7 is able to assist the motions of shoulder vertical and horizontal flexion/extension, shoulder internal/external rotation, elbow flexion/extension, forearm supination/pronation, wrist flexion/extension, and wrist radial/ulnar deviation of physically weak individuals. In the proposed control method, an impedance controller is applied to the muscle-model-oriented control method by considering the end effector force vector. Impedance parameters are adjusted in real time by considering the upper-limb posture and EMG activity levels. Experiments have been performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed robotic system.

Категория: Ищем научные статьи | Нет комментариев »

An investigation of the control of a multifingered robot hand, the Utah/MIT dextrous hand, with a hand exoskeleton worn by a human is presented. The hand exoskeleton used was the EXOS Handmaster. The relative effectiveness of two approaches in performing a task in which an object is grasped with the finger tips of the dexterous hand at the same location as the human’s grasp is evaluated. One approach was to directly measure the joint angles from the Handmaster and transfer these as the desired joint positions for the robotic fingers. The other approach was to develop a mathematical model that would allow the finger tips of the slave to replicate the finger tip positions of the human while wearing the Handmaster. This was accomplished by developing a kinematic model of the human finger and thumb and of the EXOS Handmaster. The actual finger tip position was computed within the accuracy of the model

Категория: Ищем научные статьи | Нет комментариев »

In this paper, a real-time upper limb’s motion tracking exoskeleton device is proposed and developed, which can be used in active rehabilitation of upper limb for stroke. This device is portable and wearable and is potential to be used in the passive and active training for stroke patients. Passive training has been finished in previous work and in this paper, the preliminary work for active rehabilitation is presented, which is realization of the real-time upper limb’s motion tracking. We use an adaptive weighted average filtering and double close-loop control to realize real-time and stable tracking performance. Experiments have been conducted to prove that it is suitable for active rehabilitation.

Категория: Ищем научные статьи | Нет комментариев »

This contribution discusses the advanced technologies integration: the PERCRO light-exoskeleton and the PERCRO data-glove wherein the main pursuit is the enhancement of the human grasping skills inside virtual environments. The mastering of motor human skills for taking up, lifting or manipulating objects during grasping tasks, could be effectively enhanced thanks to the inclusion of an arm exoskeleton which provides arm haptic-guidance-positioning (HGPo) into spatial coordinates and the data-glove for hand dexterity practicing. This paper takes into account a synergetic fusion of theoretical concepts and practical developments, pointing out the feasibility of having robust and accurate hand/arm haptic-robotic guidance positioning within virtual reality environments. Notice that those applications demand high precision, robustness, repeatability and hand/arm dexterity; such a mentioned properties are covered by the proposed system.

Категория: Ищем научные статьи | Нет комментариев »

A deformable non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) based volume is programmed for the Iowa State University (ISU) force-reflecting exoskeleton haptic device. A direct free-form deformation (DFFD) technique is applied for realistic manipulation. In order to implement real-time deformation, a nodal mapping technique is used to connect points on the virtual object with the NURBS volume. This geometric modeling technique is ideally incorporated with the force-reflecting haptic device as a virtual interface. The results presented in this paper introduce details for the complete set-up for a realistic virtual clay modeling task with force feedback. The ISU force-reflecting exoskeleton, coupled with a supporting PUMA 560 manipulator and the virtual clay model are integrated with the WorldToolKit (WTK) graphics display, and the results show that the force feedback from the realistic physically-based virtual environment can greatly enhance the sense of immersion.

Категория: Ищем научные статьи | Нет комментариев »