Lisandro J. Puglisi

ROAD: domestic assistant and rehabilitation robot

This study introduces the concept design and analysis of a robotic system for the assistance and rehabilitation of disabled people. Based on the statistical data of the most common types of disabilities in Spain and other industrialized countries, the different tasks that the device must be able to perform have been determined. In this study, different robots for rehabilitation and assistance previously introduced have been reviewed. This survey is focused on those robots that assist with gait, balance and standing up. The structure of the ROAD robot presents various advantages over these robots, we discuss some of them. The performance of the proposed architecture is analyzed when it performs the sit to stand activity.

Shoulder assessment methodology, clinical studies and SOFI rehabilitation exoskeleton

Abstract A measurement system has been designed in order to assess the effectiveness of therapy intervention in patients with shoulder disorders. Several upper limb movements were tested in the hospital so as to find the most suitable (fast, user-friendly and informing) solution to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy. As a consequence of the clinical study, a robotic exoskeleton development was conducted to perform the set of “exercises” applied to the patients by therapists, taking into account the experience acquired and the particular needs of each patient. SOFI, a robotic exoskeleton for shoulder rehabilitation, was designed by using the lessons learned during the clinical studies at Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofia. This robot is an economic solution and adaptable to each patient: type of disease, status of progress, patient pain tolerance, and specific circumstances of each patient. This work presents a methodology to evaluate patient’s upper-limb mobility, the results obtained in the clinical study and their implementation so as to develop SOFI robot in a human-oriented design.

User Centred Design of Rehabilitation Robots

The design of modern rehabilitation robots must be user centred. Apart from safety, robustness and the classical technical aspects (kinematics, dynamics, etc.) other issues related with the patient should be considered in the design phase. The shoulder is a complex joint frequently simplified as spherical, but the alignment of the robot and the shoulder during the movements is relevant to deal with patients that often suffer weakness, pain, etc. Specially, for robotic exoskeletons given that they are “dressed” on the body. Aspects related to shoulder and upper-limb mobility are analysed. Clinical aspects such as the patient’s disorder or capabilities and the treatment prescribed impact the design as well as the patient comfort and the possibility of being treated at home instead of in a hospital. All these aspects are reviewed through its application on the rehabilitation exoskeleton SOFI design.

Experimental Identification of Lu-Gre Friction Model in an Hydraulic Actuator

In this work is presented the experimental identification of friction effects defined by the parameters of the LuGre model. The parameters are found by means of two experiments. The first one is performed with motions at constant velocity and the second one is performed under controlled force. These experiments allow to find separately the set of parameters that govern the steady state and the pre-sliding regime, respectively.

Experiences on the Design of a Needle Insertion Surgery Robot: Kinematic Analysis

In this work is presented the evolution of the concept of a needle insertion surgery robot. Five different prototypes were proposed, keeping the core concept of decoupling kinematics, and passing from a passive device to an autonomous robot. The kinematics of the mechanisms are presented. The different configurations for the inverse kinematics are introduced. The workspace of the final prototype is analyzed.

Hybrid Position-Force Control of Climbing Parallel Robot Using Electrohydraulic Servo Actuators

An Hybrid Position-Force control scheme for hydraulic actuators is proposed for a Climbing Parallel Robot (CPR) based on a Stewart-Gough mechanism. The hydraulics actuators are modeled, and expressed as state-space variables. The parameter identification is based on experimental data and the box-grey identification procedure, using a minimization prediction error criterion. A cascade control strategy with feedback linearization and state estimation based on two control loops is used for each hydraulic actuator. The control strategy proposed for the hydraulic actuator is implemented in a real prototype, considering a position tracking task. The model of the actuators are included in the dynamic model of the CPR obtained via the virtual work formulation, which considers the thirteen bodies that composes the Stewart-Gough robot. The proposed controller is simulated and implemented on the CPR to test the limits of its performance and the real effects of friction. The results obtained from simulation and experiments are presented and discussed.Copyright