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

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体的身体能力。替代（如假肢）或改善现有手功能（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。目前的增强技术虽然在创新方面很有前景，但也面临着挑战，比如难以控制设备，以及缺乏基本反馈。在本研究中，将使用可穿戴的3d打印手增强设备Third Thumb （Dani Clode Design）。目前，拇指是由人控制的，脚趾下面有压力传感器，没有任何触觉反馈。光学传感是一种精确可靠的捕获物体及其环境信息的技术。我的研究将探讨光学传感器收集的信息如何为增强技术提供新的功能。首先，我们将专注于控制，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），以及通过开发第三个拇指的智能驱动来提供运动精度，研究向系统输入命令的方法。其次，我们将关注反馈，其中光学传感将用于将拇指所经历的信息（例如，压力，粗糙度等）传递给用户（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。

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.