Design of an optical sensing system to control and intelligently actuate wearable robotics augmentation

设计光学传感系统来控制和智能驱动可穿戴机器人增强功能

• 批准号: 2775805
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2775805
• 关键词: Design; optical; sensing; system; control

Robotic motor augmentation is a new research domain that employs methodologies to extend the physical abilities of any individual in various ways. Commercial opportunities for substituting (e.g. prosthetic limbs) or improving existing hand function (e.g. exoskeleton) already exist, whereas augmentation technologies are still at relatively early development. While promising in innovation, current augmentation technologies come with challenges, such as difficulty to control the devices, and a lack of fundamental feedback. In this research, the Third Thumb (Dani Clode Design), a wearable 3D-printed hand augmentation device will be used. For now, the thumb is human-controlled with pressure sensors under the toes and doesn't present any haptic feedback. Optical sensing is a precise and reliable technology to capture information on an object and its environment. My research will investigate how information harvested by optical sensors can provide new functionality to augmentation technologies. First, we will focus on control, looking at ways to input commands to the system both by sensing the user's motor intentions (in the case of healthy individuals and also patients who suffered from a stroke), but also by developing intelligent actuation of the third thumb provide movement precision. Second, we will focus on feedback, where optical sensing will be used to deliver information (e.g., pressure, roughness, etc) on what the thumb is experiencing back to the user (or the intelligent control). By comprehensively considering both control and feedback, optical sensing has enormous (yet unexploited) potential for creating closed-loop systems.

机器人运动增强是一个新的研究领域，它采用各种方法来扩展任何个人的身体能力。替代（例如假肢）或改善现有手部功能（例如外骨骼）的商业机会已经存在，而增强技术仍处于相对早期的发展阶段。虽然在创新方面前景广阔，但目前的增强技术也面临挑战，例如难以控制设备，以及缺乏基本反馈。在这项研究中，将使用第三个拇指（Dani Clode Design），一种可穿戴的3D打印手部增强设备。目前，拇指是由人控制的，脚趾下有压力传感器，没有任何触觉反馈。光学传感是一种精确可靠的技术，用于捕获物体及其环境的信息。我的研究将调查光学传感器收集的信息如何为增强技术提供新功能。首先，我们将专注于控制，研究通过感知用户的运动意图（在健康个体和中风患者的情况下）向系统输入命令的方法，还通过开发第三拇指的智能驱动来提供运动精度。其次，我们将重点关注反馈，其中光学传感将用于传递信息（例如，压力、粗糙度等）反馈给用户（或智能控制）。通过综合考虑控制和反馈，光学传感在创建闭环系统方面具有巨大的（尚未开发的）潜力。