Osamu Sueda

Development of training equipment with an adaptive and learning mechanism using balloon actuator-sensor system

This paper proposes training equipment using a balloon actuator-sensor system (BASS) for persons unable to move their hands because of injury or disease. BASS is able to control the stiffness adaptively using an adaptive learning impedance controller. The pneumatic actuator has excellent compliance and flexibility, which is good for a human-mechanical system. However, it is also nonlinear, hence high precision control is difficult. Therefore, a CMAC-PID control scheme is installed. Finally, the BASS control performance is evaluated in a control experiment.

Vibration Influence of Tactile Walking Surface Indicators on the Running of Manual Wheelchairs and Walking Frames

The riding comfort of manual wheelchairs is greatly influenced by tactile walking surface indicators (TWSIs) that are usually set on sidewalks for visually impaired person. The goal of our research is to understand how block patterns and their vertical vibrations influence the ride of manual wheelchairs. This paper also presents a system that easily measures the vibration characteristic of the walking frame. Using various tactile walking surface indicators as a rugged path, this system measured the vibration when using various walking frames. This paper, therefore, considers the vibration influence of TWSIs on wheelchairs with and without suspension equipped wheels and various walking frames

Study on the accessibility and assistive device between platforms and trains for manual wheelchair user

The gaps and steps between platforms and trains reduce the accessibility and mobility of persons with wheelchair in railway transportations. Using an experimental platform, the observations were performed how gaps and steps influence their capabilities for wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries. A quantity of normalized driving force (NDF) was introduced to evaluate the abilities of getting on/off trains. Dynamic wheelchair driving force was measured by using torque meter equipped on the wheelchair to analyze the power boarding on trains. To improve practical accessibility of persons with wheelchair, an assistive device for boarding trains was designed and verified.

Research on Blinking-Luminescence Travel Support for Visually Impaired Persons

Of the five human senses, vision is said to account for 80% of the information acquired. The presentation of light is an effective way to convey visual information. A blinking presentation especially attracts attention. A low-vision person acquires peripheral information through residual vision. In this case, light effectively supports the travel of low-vision persons. A blinking light stimulates more than a continuous light. However, a blinking light is not sufficiently compatible with the surrounding environment. This research investigates an environmentally friendly blinking pattern to arouse attention.

Study on the wheelchair user’s body vibration and wheelchair driving torque when wheelchair is ascending / descending the boundary curb between pavement and roadway

The design of the boundary curb between pavement and roadway constructed in the crosswalk is requested to secure safety and smooth traffic for all passing people. It is preferable to set the step of curb to be about 2 cm for the visually handicapped persons to ascertain the boundary. However, this step is a barrier for the wheelchair user. This research aims the quantitative evaluation of the typical existing curbs from wheelchair userpsilas viewpoint, and the final proposal of the universal design of an easy-to-use curb for all. The wheelchair userpsilas body vibration and body load were examined by using the three directional accelerometers and the torque meter equipped wheelchair. It was shown to be able to evaluate the curb objectively by assuming the body vibration and the wheelchair driving torque as a measure.

Speed control of 3-mass system with sliding mode control and CMAC

This work deals with a design scheme of the speed control for a 3-mass system, which has a hybrid structure of a sliding mode controller and a cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC). The nonlinear control part in the sliding mode controller is firstly designed, and then a real-coded genetic algorithm is utilized to optimize the output from the sliding mode controller. The CMAC compensates the sliding mode controller so that the control performance is improved well. The behavior of the newly proposed control scheme is experimentally examined in comparison with using only the sliding mode controller.

Verification of Blinking LED Block Installed at Crosswalk Entrance for Low-Vision People

There are individual differences in the degree of disorder and impairment of low-vision people, but in many cases discrimination of light and darkness is possible. Therefore, it is effective to use flashing light to support amblyopic vision. To support these low-vision people, in previous research, we conducted research on the introduction and adaptation of LEDs as support for low-vision people. Also, we are doing research to install LED blocks at the entrances to pedestrian crossings. In this research, we evaluated LED blocks laid out delineating the crosswalk entrance. The subjects evaluated the flickering stimulus intensity of the presented flickering light and the enhancement of visibility by sensory evaluation. Based on the experiment results, we consider the blinking method most suitable for amblyopia support.

Identification of Tactile Walking Surface Indicators by white cane

This paper describes identifying Tactile Walking Surface Indicators (TWSIs) with a white cane using an accelerometer. The vibration was examined by using an actual dot block. The effectiveness of the white cane was verified by examining the relation between the vibration and psychological strength. The experiment result revealed that there is no correlation between the psychological distance and the frequency spectrum.

Development of a postural supporting device using an adaptive and learning balloon actuator-sensor system

In this paper, a postural supporting device using a balloon actuator-sensor system (BASS) is proposed for the person with disability who is unable to move their body because of injury or disease. The BASS is able to control the position and stiffness adaptively using an adaptive learning impedance controller. The pneumatic actuator has excellent compliance and flexibility, therefore that is good for the human-mechanical system. However, it also has nonlinearity, hence high precision control is difficult. Therefore, in this paper, the CMAC-PID control scheme is installed. The control performance of the BASS is evaluated by the control experiment.

A study of powered wheelchair operation

At present, powered wheelchair joystick lever of the single fulcrum type is standard equipment. This time, we developed a slide type joystick with a mechanism to slide back and forth. In this study, the operation time a nd operation velocity of the slide and standard type joystick was measured with PC simulator.