Intelligent Human-Interactive, Assistive, and Rehabilitation Systems and Robots

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The 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability reveals that one in five Canadians (6.2 million) have experienced one or more disabilities in their lives limiting their abilities such as dexterity, mobility, flexibility, vision, or cognition. Recent advancements in computing, communication, robotics, and AI have created new opportunities for more intelligent rehabilitation or assistive devices enabling faster recovery or better performing daily tasks. With the emergence of novel applications requiring more intimate human-machine interaction or cooperation, several research questions arise regarding the design, intelligence, controls, safety, reliability, adaptability, efficacy, and human factors that need to be addressed. The Advanced Biomechatronics and Locomotion Laboratory (ABL) at Carleton University aim is to develop and validate intelligent machines to address such new research questions. This proposal builds upon the past research on experimental rehabilitation and assistive robotics and enhances the area by introducing and investigating new classes of intelligent control and sensing strategies to ensure safer, more intelligent, adaptable, and reliable physical human-machine interactions structured as follows: The specific goals of the project include:  -Introduction and validation of the novel Intelligent Learning Assistive Devices (iLEAD) framework that enable a class of assistive devices to adapt to their human users' behaviour/state variations. -Advancing force control methodologies with guaranteed stability for human machine interactions. -Advancing fibre optic based biomechanical compliant sensors and feedback control loops including compliant limb sensing (CLS) concept. -Advancing our current rehabilitation and assistive devices using the proposed controllers and conduct end-user validation experiments in collaboration with local healthcare organizations. This research can be applied to multitude of applications where an assistive device is interacting with a human. The outcome is of importance to medical device and engineering community and could impact the life of Canadians with mobility or other types of impairments.