Håkan Neveryd

Robotics in rehabilitation

Robotics in rehabilitation provide considerable opportunities to improve the quality of life for physically disabled people. However, practical results are limited, mainly due to the need for developing new robotics concepts where people are working together with robots, as opposed to industrial robots where they are working in separated areas. The authors reveal some of the developments needed and present two projects currently underway at Lund University. The first one is concerned with end-effector design for a robotic workstation for office-based tasks, while the second is concerned with a mobile robotic system for use in medical and chemical laboratories by disabled people. Both projects show promising results. There is also a need for further research in developing new robotic systems for use in rehabilitation with new mechanical features, as well as programming and control suitable for any user. >

Investigations to Develop a Fully Adjustable Intelligent Toilet for Supporting Old People and Persons with Disabilities - The Friendly Rest Room (FRR) Project

The FRR (Friendly Rest Room) project creates and evaluates prototypes of a more user friendly intelligent toilet for old persons and for persons with disabilities. Additionally, applicable knowledge regarding needs and wishes of old and/or disabled persons and their care persons are documented. In this paper the user driven research approach, ethical aspects and the iterative user centred design process are outlined. First results from user tests of lighting, human computer interface and preferred seating heights are described.

The ultrasonic navigating robot, WALKY

A mobile robot system is being designed to work in a chemical laboratory environment for people with physical disabilities. We have found that chemical laboratories are good workplace alternatives to the office environment (see BACKGROUND). The main requirement for the workplace is to keep the work meaningful after the workplace has been robotized. The reasons for working with a mobile robot system are numerous: high flexibility for the disabled (the possibility to move between different workstations). only small changes in the physical environment are necessary. possibilities for the disabled and the non-disabled to use the same laboratory equipment.