Operation of assistive apparatus through recognition of human behavior: Development and experimental evaluation of chair-typed assistive apparatus of nine-link mechanism with 1 degree of freedom

Myoungjae Jun,Yuko Ohno,Hieyong Jeong

doi:10.1177/1687814020938899

Myoungjae Jun, Yuko Ohno + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/1687814020938899

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Abstract

Because of deterioration of strength, range of joint motion, and balance ability, most care-dependent older adults require assistance to move from a seated position to a standing position. Although many sit-to-stand assisting apparatuses consisting of a seat, power transmission mechanism, and sensors have been developed, most of movements depend several actuators as the power transmission mechanism. This study aims to develop the chair-typed apparatus of nine-link mechanism with 1 degree of freedom at first, then to prove the possibility that the apparatus can be operated through the recognition of human behavior by one sensor. Here, the nine-link mechanism is divided into two mechanisms: the five link for raising the height; the four link for rotating. The mechanical part enables two input links for two mechanisms to be driven by one linear actuator simultaneously. The measurement with the infrared sensor enables the assistive apparatus to be operated automatically while patterns from measured data help the apparatus recognize what the user want to do: one is the sit-to-stand movement; the other is the stand-to-sit movement. It is discussed that the operating method through the human behavior is helpful for most older adults who are not familiar with the operation of machine.

Highlights

People frequently engage in sit-to-stand (SiSt) and stand-to-sit (StSi) movements as they change from a sitting position to a standing position and vice versa
For phase 3, when a subject tries to stand up the seat, the distance between the position sensitive detector (PSD) sensor and the human body is suddenly changed because the trunk of human subject is bending forward
It was confirmed that the measured value through the PSD sensor worked well in order to recognize the human behavior

Summary

Introduction

People frequently engage in sit-to-stand (SiSt) and stand-to-sit (StSi) movements as they change from a sitting position to a standing position and vice versa. The ability to perform the SiSt and StSi movements is an important skill; in care-dependent older adults, the inability to perform this basic skill can lead to institutionalization and impaired functioning and mobility in activities of daily living (ADL). Changes in the ability to perform the SiSt and StSi movements are found in care-dependent older adults and people with disabling diseases and are largely related to the determinants of the SiSt and StSi movements. Among all daily activities related to ADL, the SiSt and StSi movements have been identified as the most difficult and mechanically demanding; it has been proved that almost everyone performs the SiSt and StSi at least 45 times per a day.[2] the ability to perform this basic skill gradually decreases because of muscle strength deterioration, allowable range of joint mobility, and a sense of balance.[3,4] with the growing population of those over 60, there is an urgent need for the development of assisting apparatuses.[5,6,7]

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