Abstract
In modern times, the collaboration between humans and machines increasingly rises, combining their respective benefits. The direct physical support causes interaction forces in human–machine interfaces, whereas their form determines both the effectiveness and comfort of the collaboration. However, their correct detection requires various sensor characteristics and remains challenging. Thus, this paper presents a developed low-cost sensor pad working with a silicone capsule and a piezoresistive pressure sensor. Its measurement accuracy is validated in both an isolated testing environment and a laboratory study with four test subjects (gender-balanced), and an application integrated in interfaces of an active upper-body exoskeleton. In the material-testing machine, it becomes apparent that the sensor pad generally features the capability of reliably determining normal forces on its surface until a certain threshold. This is also proven in the real application, where the measurement data of three sensor pads spatially embedded in the exoskeletal interface are compared to the data of an installed multi-axis load cell and a high-resolution flexible pressure map. Here, the consideration of three sensor pads potentially enables detection of exoskeletal support on the upper arm as well as “poor” fit conditions such as uneven pressure distributions that recommend immediate system adjustments for ergonomic improvements.
Highlights
Published: 10 January 2022In global economies and daily life situations, the demand for physical support in executing manual tasks continually rises to increase the productivity, ease the physical and cognitive workload, and improve the ergonomics and attractiveness of such workplaces.Here, from the connection between humans and support systems with their respective and unique properties can emerge an interacting, hybrid, and beneficial integral system [1].For instance, humans feature distinct sensory abilities [2] and flexibility, whereas technical devices excel in terms of, e.g., repeat accuracy, endurance, or speed
The developed sensor pad was clamped in the testing machine and both measurements’
In our case, the presented sensor pad shows a prospectively promising competitive measurement performance compared to other high-resolution, expensive, and professional measurement equipment for human–machine interaction such as the multiaxis load cell or the pressure map
Summary
Published: 10 January 2022In global economies and daily life situations, the demand for physical support in executing manual tasks continually rises to increase the productivity, ease the physical and cognitive workload, and improve the ergonomics and attractiveness of such workplaces.Here, from the connection between humans and support systems with their respective and unique properties can emerge an interacting, hybrid, and beneficial integral system [1].For instance, humans feature distinct sensory abilities [2] and flexibility, whereas technical devices excel in terms of, e.g., repeat accuracy, endurance, or speed. Depending on the respective circumstances, multiple technical physical support systems such as collaborative robots, power tools, or exoskeletons are developed and generally accessible. These systems exhibit different technical functionalities and morphological structures [3]. Any coupling between support system and user is made with physical interfaces, which generally evokes body-surface pressures [4] or body loads Since both can be described as interaction forces, especially when the direction is crucial and the concrete contact surface area is undefined or unknown, this term is consistently used in the following. Their assessment might be of central interest for evaluating technical
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