Pierre Letier

Bowden Cable Actuator for Force-Feedback Exoskeletons

This paper introduces a novel type of actuator that is investigated by ESA for force-reflection to a wearable exoskeleton. The actuator consists of a DC motor that is relocated from the joint by means of Bowden cable transmissions. The actuator shall support the development of truly ergonomic and compact wearable man-machine interfaces. Important Bowden cable transmission characteristics are discussed, which dictate a specific hardware design for such an actuator. A first prototype is shown, which was used to analyze these basic characteristics of the transmissions and to proof the overall actuation concept. A second, improved prototype is introduced, which is currently used to investigate the achievable performance as a master actuator in a master-slave control with force-feedback. Initial experimental results are presented, which show good actuator performance in a 4 channel control scheme with a slave joint. The actuator features low movement resistance in free motion and can reflect high torques during hard contact situations. High contact stability can be achieved. The actuator seems therefore well suited to be implemented into the ESA exoskeleton for space-robotic telemanipulation

SAM : A 7-DOF portable arm exoskeleton with local joint control

This paper presents the development of SAM, the Sensoric Arm Master, a 7-DOF portable exoskeleton with integrated actuation and sensors. Local joint control is implemented to improve performances of the device. Some experiments have been conducted with the system to show the functionality of the exoskeleton device linked to a virtual reality.

The ICARUS project - Command, Control and Intelligence (C2I)

This paper describes the features and concepts behind the Command, Control and Intelligence (C2I) system under development in the ICARUS project, which aims at improving crisis management with the use of unmanned search and rescue robotic appliances embedded and integrated into existing infrastructures. A beneficial C2I system should assist the search and rescue process by enhancing first responder situational awareness, decision making and crisis handling by designing intuitive user interfaces that convey detailed and extensive information about the crisis and its evolution. The different components of C2I, their architectural and functional aspects are described along with the robot platform used for development and field testing.

EXOSTATION : Haptic exoskeleton based control station

EXOSTATION is a project aiming at building a complete haptic control station, which allows the operator wearing an exoskeleton-based haptic interface for the human arm to remotely control a virtual slave robot. This paper briefly describes the various components : the Sensoric Arm Master (SAM), a portable haptic exoskeleton, the Exoskeleton COntroller (ECO), the slave simulator, simulating an anthropomorphic manipulator and a 3D visualisation client. Several teleoperation control strategies (impedance, hybrid control, 3-channel) have been tested and compared in order to evaluate their performances. The last has shown the best behavior in term of haptic feedback. Finally, a focus is made on the application, and how various manipulation and operation tasks can be performed to assess the systems performances (contact wall, objects manipulation, screwing). Users who tested the system were very impressed by the easiness of operation with the exoskeleton and felt the advantages of a force feedback information.

Portable smart wrist rehabilitation device driven by rotational MR-fluid brake actuator for telemedecine applications

This paper reports on the current status of the effort conducted at ULB in order to develop a portable muscular rehabilitation device for telemedicine applications. It is divided into four parts. The first part recalls the basic modes of muscular rehabilitation and gives a brief overview of commercial rehabilitation machines as well as portable devices under development. The second part describes the design of the proposed device and justifies the selection of MR-fluid brake actuation. The third part is devoted to the description of the control strategies implemented on the device. Finally, the last part describes preliminary results obtained with the device for the various exercise modes.

Development of a search and rescue field robotic assistant

The work introduced in this paper was performed as part of the FP7 INTRO (Marie-Curie ITN) project. We describe the activities undertaken towards the development of a field robotic assistant for a Search and Rescue application. We specifically target a rubble clearing task, where the robot will ferry small pieces of rubble between two waypoints assigned to it by the human. The aim is to complement a human worker with a robotic assistant for this task, while maintaining a comparable level of speed and efficiency in the task execution. Towards this end we develop/integrate software capabilities in mobile navigation, arm manipulation and high level tasks sequences learning. Early outdoor experiments carried out in a quarry are furthermore introduced.

3D Printed Arm Exoskeleton for Teleoperation and Manipulation Applications

This paper presents the recent activities of Space Applications Services for the development of force feedback arm exoskeletons based on 3D printing technologies. The paper describes the design of the exoskeleton system and illustrates its application through two different projects of slave robotic arm teleoperation, ICARUS and DEXROV, where the concept is used.

SOLEUS: Ankle Foot Orthosis for Space Countermeasure with Immersive Virtual Reality

This paper presents the SOLEUS project, which aims to design innovative countermeasure for astronauts in space, based on the development of an active foot orthosis and immersive virtual reality technologies. The paper introduces the problematics of space countermeasure and describes the expected benefits of the proposed technology. It provides details on the system architecture, components and the simulation tool that has been used to support the design process. Finally, the scientific evaluation strategy for the validation of the system is introduced.