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Rehabilitation Robots and Assistive Devices: A Special Issue in Honor...
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Rehabilitation Robots and Assistive Devices: A Special Issue in Honor of Prof. Dr. Rory A. Cooper

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Actuators for Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2024 | Viewed by 3064

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jonathan Duvall

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Human Engineering Research Laboratories, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Interests: assistive technology; 3-D printed assistive devices; adaptive sports and recreation; accessible transportation; automated and robotic transfers; activities of daily living (ADL) technology; accessible laboratories; innovation
Dr. Jorge L. Candiotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Human Engineering Research Laboratories, Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Interests: human engineering research; rehabilitation robotics; human–robotic interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Brad Duerstock

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Interests: assistive robotics; multisensory feedback; smart assistive technology; multimodal control; wearable physiological sensing
Dr. Jongbae Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health Sciences, Yonsei University, Wonju, Republic of Korea
Interests: telerehabilitation; rehabilitation robot; quality of life technologies for aging and disability; adaptive sports and exercise; assistive technologies for accessibility and ADL

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special issue of Actuators is dedicated to Dr. Rory Cooper for his outstanding innovations in wheeled assistive mobility and robotics, and his contributions in the field of assistive technology. His inventions have greatly benefitted the health, mobility and social inclusion of people with disabilities and older adults.

Dr. Cooper earned his bachelor and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 1985 and 1986, respectively. He later earned a Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering, with a focus on bioengineering, from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989. In 1994, he founded the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), where he continues to enhance the mobility and function of people with disabilities through advanced engineering in clinical research and medical rehabilitation.

He is a FISA and Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Distinguished Professor in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Professor of Bioengineering, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He also serves as Assistant Vice Chancellor for the Research for STEM and Health Sciences Collaboration for the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Cooper has authored or co-authored over 400 peer-reviewed journal publications and has been awarded over 20 patents. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and IEEE, and can name the Samuel E. Heyman Service to America Medal among his many honors. He is a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Dr. Cooper’s research interests and scientific/technical expertise have evolved in recent years, and now include participatory action design and engineering, seating and mobility, accessible transportation, autonomous and electric vehicle accessibility accommodations, adaptive sports, and patient transfer robots, among others.

This Special Issue will have a broad focus on rehabilitation robots and other assistive devices that move or are actuated, and their ability to improve the functional daily activities of people with disabilities and older adults. The Actuators journal welcomes the submission of original research and review articles in these areas.

Dr. Jonathan Duvall
Dr. Jorge L. Candiotti
Dr. Brad Duerstock
Dr. Jongbae Kim
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • assistive technology 
  • wheelchairs 
  • rehabilitation engineering 
  • assistive robotics 
  • accessible transportation 
  • accessibility 
  • injury prevention 
  • activities of daily living 
  • seating and mobility 
  • usability

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4986 KiB  
Article
Optimization Approach for Multisensory Feedback in Robot-Assisted Pouring Task
by Mandira S. Marambe, Bradley S. Duerstock and Juan P. Wachs
Actuators 2024, 13(4), 152; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/act13040152 - 18 Apr 2024
Viewed by 318
Abstract
Individuals with disabilities and persons operating in inaccessible environments can greatly benefit from the aid of robotic manipulators in performing daily living activities and other remote tasks. Users relying on robotic manipulators to interact with their environment are restricted by the lack of [...] Read more.
Individuals with disabilities and persons operating in inaccessible environments can greatly benefit from the aid of robotic manipulators in performing daily living activities and other remote tasks. Users relying on robotic manipulators to interact with their environment are restricted by the lack of sensory information available through traditional operator interfaces. These interfaces deprive users of somatosensory feedback that would typically be available through direct contact. Multimodal sensory feedback can bridge these perceptual gaps effectively. Given a set of object properties (e.g., temperature, weight) to be conveyed and sensory modalities (e.g., visual, haptic) available, it is necessary to determine which modality should be assigned to each property for an effective interface design. The goal of this study was to develop an effective multisensory interface for robot-assisted pouring tasks, which delivers nuanced sensory feedback while permitting the high visual demand necessary for precise teleoperation. To that end, an optimization approach was employed to generate a combination of feedback properties to modality assignments that maximizes effective feedback perception and minimizes cognitive load. A set of screening experiments tested twelve possible individual assignments to form this optimal combination. The resulting perceptual accuracy, load, and user preference measures were input into a cost function. Formulating and solving as a linear assignment problem, a minimum cost combination was generated. Results from experiments evaluating efficacy in practical use cases for pouring tasks indicate that the solution was significantly more effective than no feedback and had considerable advantage over an arbitrary design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation Robots and Assistive Devices: A Special Issue in Honor of Prof. Dr. Rory A. Cooper)
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16 pages, 1685 KiB  
Article
Novel Extension Control Instrument for Power Wheelchair Based on Kalman Filter Head Motion Detection
by Yixin Zhang, Zhuohang Ying, Xinyu Tian, Siyuan Jin, Junjie Huang and Yinan Miao
Actuators 2024, 13(4), 141; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/act13040141 - 11 Apr 2024
Viewed by 326
Abstract
People with upper limb disabilities or high quadriplegia have extremely high requirements for the maneuverability and functionality of power wheelchairs. Normal wheelchairs cannot meet travel tasks, while smart customized wheelchairs are expensive and cannot be popularized. Therefore, a novel extension control instrument for [...] Read more.
People with upper limb disabilities or high quadriplegia have extremely high requirements for the maneuverability and functionality of power wheelchairs. Normal wheelchairs cannot meet travel tasks, while smart customized wheelchairs are expensive and cannot be popularized. Therefore, a novel extension control instrument for power wheelchairs with low cost, strong scalability, and convenient usage is proposed, which can realize the control of the wheelchair by sensing a change of head posture. The device is divided into a head motion sensing unit (HMSU) and a wheelchair assistance control unit (WACU). The mapping relationship between the head attitude and the subject’s motion intention is established. The inertial measurement module in the HMSU collects the head attitude data and uses the Kalman filtering method to obtain the accurate Euler angle. The WACU is fixed on the original controller of the wheelchair. The joystick is inserted into the extended control mechanism and controlled, instead of the hand, through a 2-degree-of-freedom servo system combined with the pinion and rack push rod structure, thus controlling the movement of the wheelchair. In proceeding, the system can also detect the distance of objects in the environment in real time through the three-direction (front, left, right) ultrasonic ranging sensors installed on the WACU, with a certain obstacle avoidance function. The prototype experiments prove that the extension control instrument developed in this paper based on the Kalman filter can quickly and accurately identify head motion and accurately control the movement of the wheelchair. It is easy to operate and has strong universality, which presents a new low-cost solution for the travel of patients with disabilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation Robots and Assistive Devices: A Special Issue in Honor of Prof. Dr. Rory A. Cooper)
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17 pages, 5077 KiB  
Article
Exploring Control Authority Preferences in Robotic Arm Assistance for Power Wheelchair Users
by Breelyn Kane Styler, Wei Deng, Reid Simmons, Henny Admoni, Rory Cooper and Dan Ding
Actuators 2024, 13(3), 104; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/act13030104 - 07 Mar 2024
Viewed by 880
Abstract
This paper uses mixed methods to explore the preliminary design of control authority preferences for an Assistive Robotic Manipulator (ARM). To familiarize users with an intelligent robotic arm, we perform two kitchen task iterations: one with user-initiated software autonomy (predefined autonomous actions) and [...] Read more.
This paper uses mixed methods to explore the preliminary design of control authority preferences for an Assistive Robotic Manipulator (ARM). To familiarize users with an intelligent robotic arm, we perform two kitchen task iterations: one with user-initiated software autonomy (predefined autonomous actions) and one with manual control. Then, we introduce a third scenario, enabling users to choose between manual control and system delegation throughout the task. Results showed that, while manually switching modes and controlling the arm via joystick had a higher mental workload, participants still preferred full joystick control. Thematic analysis indicates manual control offered greater freedom and sense of accomplishment. Participants reacted positively to the idea of an interactive assistive system. Users did not want to ask the system to only assist, by taking over for certain actions, but also asked for situational feedback (e.g., ‘How close am I (the gripper)?’, ‘Is the lid centered over the jug?’). This speaks to a future assistive system that ensures the user feels like they drive the system for the entirety of the task and provides action collaboration in addition to more granular situational awareness feedback. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation Robots and Assistive Devices: A Special Issue in Honor of Prof. Dr. Rory A. Cooper)
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16 pages, 4216 KiB  
Article
Proposal for a Human–Machine Collaborative Transfer System Considering Caregivers’ Lower Back Pain and Cognitive Factors in the Elderly during Transfer Movements
by Jiang Wu and Motoki Shino
Actuators 2024, 13(3), 96; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/act13030096 - 28 Feb 2024
Viewed by 918
Abstract
With the aging society in Japan, the number of elderly people residing in elderly facilities is increasing. In previous study, we developed a transfer assistive device designed to aid the elderly in transferring from the bedroom to the bathroom. Additionally, the device assists [...] Read more.
With the aging society in Japan, the number of elderly people residing in elderly facilities is increasing. In previous study, we developed a transfer assistive device designed to aid the elderly in transferring from the bedroom to the bathroom. Additionally, the device assists the elderly with standing and sitting to facilitate independent toileting activities. We verified that, throughout the entire transfer movement, the lumbar burden on caregivers remained below 3400 N. In this study, based on quantitative evaluation indices of transfer movements, the relationship between the lumbar burden on caregivers and factors such as psychological anxiety or cognitive impairment in the elderly during the use of a transfer assistive device was elucidated through motion analysis. We developed a control algorithm for the human–machine collaborative transfer system with the aim of alleviating the strain on the caregiver’s lower back while ensuring the elderly can use the device with peace of mind. The practicality of the control algorithm was verified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation Robots and Assistive Devices: A Special Issue in Honor of Prof. Dr. Rory A. Cooper)
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