Tomozumi Ikeda

Self-aided manipulator system for bed-ridden patients - Evaluation of psychological influence for the generated approach motion -

Rehabilitation robots that are used to assist patients should be able to move naturally and cause no discomfort to the patients. In this study, a self-aided manipulator system that can generate natural motion and assist bed-ridden patients has been developed. The self-aided manipulator is designed so that it can grasp a glass of water from a side table for the patient. The system can detect the starting position (position of the glass) and the target position (position of the patients lips) by using a video camera. The direction angle of the patients face is also determined, and approach motions are generated on the basis of these angles. Approach motions are generated by changing the peak velocity time, maximum speed, and detour point position of the manipulator, and the psychological influence on the patient is evaluated on the basis of their heart rate variability (HRV), skin potential response (SPR), and response to questionnaires. The results suggested that a peak velocity time of 75% of the total movement time, a maximum speed of 36 cm/s, and an approach path from the right when the patients head is facing straight or to the left tended to have the strongest psychological influence on the patient. From these results, it was indicated that the following conditions are preferable for the approach motion of the manipulator: a peak velocity time of approximately 25 to 50% of the total movement time, a maximum speed from 18 to 24 cm/s, and an approach path in the direction in which the head faces.

Makeup support system for visually impaired persons: overview of system functions

A questionnaire survey carried out among 25 visually impaired women indicates that they feel uncertainty to their makeup. It is observed that there is a need to develop a system to teach them how to apply makeup and to check their makeup. We have been developing a prototype of a makeup support system for visually impaired persons. The system provides information on makeup and imparts knowledge on how to apply makeup. Further, for checking the current makeup condition, an image processing system that can recognize the face and its parts and check for excess lipstick and the shape of the eyebrows has been developed. From a series of input images, the best image for checking can be selected on the basis of the sum of squares of residual errors after an affine transformation. Further, a usability assessment was carried out by considering eight visually impaired women, and the result could achieve a high score related to the content of information on makeup.

DEVELOPMENT OF A MOBILITY AID FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED USING A HAPTIC FORCE GENERATOR

ABSTRACT This paper describes the development of a “virtual cane,” a kind of walking aid for the visually impaired, using a haptic force generator consisting of a gyroscope and its controller. It is shown theoretically that the haptic force generator can change the superficial moment of inertia of a rod. Good agreement between the analytical and experimental results indicates that the haptic force generator provides one of the essential functions of the virtual cane.