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

轮椅的设计本质上是由两个带有一个或多个脚轮的大型驱动轮支撑的椅子，自1869年获得第一个美国专利以来几乎没有变化。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。目前的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导致肩部和手腕长期过度使用损伤，而且由于手被推进所占据，因此无法获得诸如牵着爱人的手散步之类的生活体验。其他生活体验在很大程度上也是无法实现的，比如轻松安全地在各种户外地形（砾石、岩石、草地、沙子、雪地）上穿行，以及进入洗手间隔间和飞机过道等狭窄空间。电动轮椅解决了其中的一些限制；然而，它们又重又大，这也限制了在狭窄空间的使用，并且需要配备坡道/升降机的车辆进行运输。大多数上肢功能良好的轮椅使用者不会使用电动轮椅，因为它们的重量很大，运行时间有限，体积更大，成本更高。需要一种颠覆性的方法来实现下肢残疾人的滚动活动。这个项目设想通过探索一种安全、紧凑、适应性强的球形机器人（ballbot）来打破传统轮椅的模式，骑手坐在一个由一个大球驱动的光滑的模块化机器人上。机器人的运动和速度可以通过轻轻倾斜躯干来控制。使用一个单一的球形轮（一个球）允许在任何方向独特的运动，或“全方位”的运动。由于圆球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椅子的高度。以用户为中心的设计和用户体验原则将贯穿于原型开发过程，通过整合焦点小组的输入来进行迭代调整。这种实施例创造了一种理想的无处不在的人机协作关系，将这种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，将设计思维，特别是针对残疾人的设计，引入大学课程和高中工程夏令营。伊利诺斯大学厄巴纳-香槟分校的美国残疾人训练中心将设立一个专门的残疾人设计制造商实验室，为这些学生和校园内的学生提供身临其境的、感同身受的机会，让他们接触到现实世界的应用和身体残疾的个人。MiaPURE是一种模块化、交互式和自适应协作机器人，将为每个用户提供个性化的独特滚动体验。MiaPURE探索了一个通用的全向球形机器人平台，具有多个人机界面，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自平衡球的机器人的硬件和控制，为下肢残疾的人提供安全、紧凑和直观的移动设备。这种骑球机器人将具有全方位、免提运动和适应不同大小用户的能力，以及在各种环境下的躯干功能能力。第二个目标是利用模块化设想轻松转换成能够支持大量头重有效载荷（包括成人重量）的伴侣机器人。这两种设计配置都使用了一个通用的球形机器人传动系统，这将是一个共享的测试平台，允许其他人探索球形机器人的研究问题。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。将开发两种驱动设备配置的输入控制模式：(1)直接物理交互（骑乘时躯干倾斜或推/拉同伴球机器人），以及(2)使用输入设备（例如，操纵杆，手势控制）的远程命令。此外，还将研究避障和半自主导航等高级驾驶辅助功能。具体来说，该项目将建造第三代原型机。在第一个目标中，该项目将研究与人机界面相关的问题，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问题。本项目中探索的技术方法可适用于制作可实现的球形机器人系列，以解决各种用例和涉众（消费者、医疗保健、劳动力和/或国防）。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.