Abstract
We propose a motion control interface system for a mobile robotic cart to support Home Oxygen Therapy (HOT) patients when they go out. Our goal is to realize a mobile robotic cart similar to a wheeled walker that carries oxygen devices in front of patients, because HOT patients whose physical strength has especially waned would like to use such a cart according to the results of our questionnaire given to patients. The proposed handling interface of the mobile robotic cart adopts simple mechanisms and commonly used force sensors to sense only pushing and pulling forces from the user. We also apply a two-degrees-of-freedom (2 D.O.F.) control system to control the velocity and response time of the robotic cart. The feedforward controller of the 2 D.O.F. control system, which is an impedance-adjustable element, is expected to be used not only to adjust the response time but also to compensate for interference between the forces applied by the user and the robotic cart during operation. In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of our proposed handling interface mechanisms and control system by performing several experiments on a prototype robotic cart, and then we carried out user tests on some HOT patients and received a positive evaluation of the robotic cart’s performance.
Highlights
Home oxygen therapy (HOT) is a medical treatment for patients who suffer from lung problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and it is thought that about 160,000 patients are currently receiving HOT treatment in Japan [1]
On the basis of the results of a questionnaire investigating the needs of HOT patients, we propose a new type of mobile robotic cart that moves in front of the users to a wheeled walker that can carry a set of portable oxygen equipment
We proposed a new operation interface mechanism employing a rigid handle with several commonly used force sensors and a motion control system
Summary
Home oxygen therapy (HOT) is a medical treatment for patients who suffer from lung problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and it is thought that about 160,000 patients are currently receiving HOT treatment in Japan [1]. In particular COPD patients are recommended to perform moderate exercise, i.e., walking outdoors, to maintain their physical strength, so they must use portable oxygen tanks. With this background, we have proposed and developed mobile robotic cart prototypes with Hyper-Tethertype operational interface to carry oxygen equipment and follow HOT patient to encourage the patient to go out. We have shown the effectiveness of such a robotic cart for carrying portable oxygen equipment in several user tests [3–5]. There are currently several types of oxygen equipment carriers that can
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