NRI: INT: MiaPURE (Modular, Interactive and Adaptive Personalized Unique Rolling Experience)

轮椅设计本质上是两个大驱动轮之间支撑的椅子，带有一个或多个脚轮，自1869年获得第一项美国专利以来，轮椅几乎没有变化。世界卫生组织报告称，全球约有6500万人需要轮椅。2010年美国人口普查显示，美国有360万15岁以上的轮椅使用者。目前手动轮椅设计存在局限性。值得注意的是，日常的手动椅子推进会对肩膀和手腕造成长期的过度使用伤害，而且由于双手被推进所占据，在散步时牵着爱人的手等获得生活体验的途径受到了影响。其他生活体验在很大程度上也是无法获得的，例如轻松安全地在各种户外地形上航行，而不会有坠落的风险(砾石、岩石、草地、沙子、雪)，以及进入卫生间隔间和飞机过道等狭窄空间。电动轮椅解决了其中一些限制；然而，它们又重又大，这也限制了在狭小空间中的使用，并且需要配备坡道/升降机的车辆来运输。大多数具有足够上肢功能的轮椅用户不会使用电动轮椅，因为它们重量很大，运行时间有限，尺寸较大，成本较高。需要一种颠覆性的方法来实现肢体残疾人士的滚动行动能力。该项目设想通过探索一种安全、紧凑、自适应的球型机器人(Ballbot)来打破传统轮椅的模式，在这种机器人上，骑手坐在一个由单个大球驱动的光滑的模块化机器人上。机器人的移动和速度是通过将躯干轻轻地向所需方向倾斜来实现免提的。使用单个球形轮子(球)允许在任何方向上进行独特的运动，或“全方位”运动。由于球体机器人结构的圆滑设计，机器人的足迹将大约是一个坐着的人的大小和一把椅子的高度。在原型开发过程中，将遵循以用户为中心的设计和用户体验原则，纳入焦点小组的意见，以便进行迭代调整。该实施例创建了理想的无处不在的协作人-机器人关系，其将该协作机器人无缝地集成到用户的日常生活中。该项目还将提供教育机会，将专门针对残疾设计的设计思维带到大学课程和高中工程学夏令营。在伊利诺伊大学香槟分校的美国残奥会培训中心内，将创建一个专门的残障设计Maker-Lab，为这些学生和整个校园的学生提供身临其境的、感同身受的接触真实世界的应用程序和身体残疾的个人。MiaPURE是一款模块化、交互式和自适应的协作机器人，将为每个用户提供个性化的独特滚动体验。MiaPURE探索了一种通用的全方位球型机器人平台，具有多个人-机器人界面，用于模块化和自适应设计配置和输入控制。主要目标是改进基于球的自平衡机器人的硬件和控制，以允许为腿部残疾的人提供安全、紧凑和直观的移动设备。这款骑行球类机器人将具有全方位、免提运动的特点，并能够适应不同大小和躯干功能能力的用户在各种环境中的使用。第二个目标是利用模块化来设想轻松转换为能够支撑相当大的头重脚轻的有效载荷(包括成年人的重量)的同伴机器人。这两种设计配置都使用了共同的球型机器人传动系，这将是一个共享的试验台，允许其他人探索球型机器人的研究问题。将探索可定制和可扩展的设计需求，以适应复杂环境中的不同用户。将开发推动任一设备配置的两种输入控制模式：(1)直接物理交互(骑或推/拉同伴球型机器人时躯干倾斜)，以及(2)使用输入设备的远程命令(例如，操纵杆、手势控制)。还将调查先进的驾驶辅助手段，如避障和预定义室内地点之间的半自动导航。具体地说，该项目将建造第三代原型。在第一个目标中，该项目将审查与人-机器人界面相关的问题，以实现直观和有机的用户界面。第二个和第三个目标将分别解决低级和高级机器人控制。该项目中探索的技术方法可以应用于制造可实现的球形机器人家族，以满足各种用例和利益相关者(消费者、医疗保健、劳动力和/或国防)。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Wheelchair design is essentially a chair supported between two large drive wheels with one or more casters and has changed little since the first U.S. patent awarded in 1869. Globally, the World Health Organization reports that approximately 65 million people need a wheelchair. The 2010 U.S. Census indicated that there were 3.6 million wheelchair users over the age of 15 in the U.S. Limitations exist to current manual wheelchair design. Notably, daily manual chair propulsion contributes to long-term overuse injuries to shoulders and wrists, and because the hands are occupied with propulsion, access to life experiences such as holding a loved one’s hand on a walk are compromised. Other life experiences remain largely inaccessible as well, such as easily and safely navigating a variety of outdoor terrains without risk of falling (gravel, rocks, grass, sand, snow) and accessing tight spaces such as restroom stalls and airplane aisles. Powered wheelchairs address some of these limitations; however, they are heavy and large, which also limit use in tight spaces and require ramp/lift-equipped vehicles for transport. Most wheelchair users with sufficient upper limb functionality will not use powered wheelchairs due to their substantial weight, runtime limitations, larger size, and greater cost. A disruptive approach for achieving the rolling mobility of people with lower-limb disability is needed. This project envisions breaking the mold of the traditional wheelchair through exploration of a safe, compact, adaptive ball-based robot (ballbot), where the rider sits on a sleek modular robot that is driven by a single large ball. Robot movement and speed are managed hands-free by gently leaning the torso in the desired direction. The use of a single spherical wheel (a ball) allows for unique movement in any direction, or "omnidirectional” movement. Due to the sleek design of the ballbot architecture, the robot’s footprint will be approximately the size of a seated person and the height of a chair. User-centered design and user experience principles will be observed throughout prototype development by incorporating input from focus groups to allow for iterative adjustments. This embodiment creates an ideal ubiquitous collaborative human-robot relationship that seamlessly integrates this co-robot into the user's everyday life. This project will also provide educational opportunities to bring design thinking, focused specifically on design for disability, to university courses and high school engineering summer camps. A dedicated Disability Design Maker-Lab will be created within the U.S. Paralympic Training Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to provide these students, and those across the campus, with an immersive and empathic exposure to real-world application and individuals with physical disability.MiaPURE is a Modular, Interactive and Adaptive collaborative robot that will provide a Personalized Unique Rolling Experience for each user. MiaPURE explores a common omnidirectional ballbot platform with multiple human-robot interfaces for modular and adaptive design configurations and input control. The primary goal is to improve upon hardware and control of self-balancing ball-based robots to allow for a safe, compact, and intuitive mobility device for people with lower-limb disability. This riding ballbot will feature omnidirectional, hands-free movement and ability to adapt to users of different sizes and trunk functional ability in a variety of environments. A secondary goal is to exploit modularity to envision easy conversion into a companion robot capable of supporting substantial top-heavy payloads (including up to the weight of an adult human). Both design configurations utilize a common ballbot drivetrain, which will be a sharable testbed allowing others to explore ballbot research questions. Customizable and scalable design needs will be explored to accommodate different users in complex environments. Two input control modes propelling either device configuration will be developed: (1) direct physical interaction (leaning of the torso while riding or pushing/pulling the companion ballbot), and (2) remote commands using an input device (e.g., joystick, gesture control). Advanced driving assistance such as obstacle avoidance and semi-autonomous navigation between predefined indoor locations will also be investigated. Specifically, this project will construct a third-generation prototype. In the first aim, the project will examine issues related to human-robot interfaces to allow for intuitive and organic user interfaces. The second and third aim will address low-level and higher-level robotic control, respectively. The technological approaches explored in this project can be applicable to making a realizable family of ballbots to address a variety of use cases and stakeholders (consumers, healthcare, workforce, and/or defense).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.