Abstract
The constant growth of the population with mobility impairments has led to the development of several gait assistance devices. Among these, smart walkers have emerged to provide physical and cognitive interactions during rehabilitation and assistance therapies, by means of robotic and electronic technologies. In this sense, this paper presents the development and implementation of a human–robot–environment interface on a robotic platform that emulates a smart walker, the AGoRA Walker. The interface includes modules such as a navigation system, a human detection system, a safety rules system, a user interaction system, a social interaction system and a set of autonomous and shared control strategies. The interface was validated through several tests on healthy volunteers with no gait impairments. The platform performance and usability was assessed, finding natural and intuitive interaction over the implemented control strategies.
Highlights
Human mobility is a complex behavior that involves the musculoskeletal system and dissociable neuronal systems
Resembling survey answers were obtained under each control mode with major positive distributions. These results might suggest safe, natural and intuitive interactions perceived by the volunteers who participated in the study
The robotic platform was equipped with two handlebars for forearm support and several sensory modalities, in order to emulate the performance and capabilities of an Smart Walkers (SWs)
Summary
Human mobility is a complex behavior that involves the musculoskeletal system and dissociable neuronal systems. Notwithstanding, Human–Robot–Environment Interaction (HREI) interfaces are required, in such a way that they provide natural user interactions, as well as effective environment sensing and adaption while maintaining safety requirements. In this context, the design and implementation of a multimodal HREI interface for an SW is presented. The design and implementation of a multimodal HREI interface for an SW is presented Such implementation was made to improve previous implementations of HRI interfaces on SWs, by providing safety, natural user interactions and robust environment interactions.
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