Bimanual Assistive Robotic Platform for Neuroscience Research, Synthesized Skill Learning and Robotic Rehabilitation

机器人技术的进步正在引领医疗保健、理疗和康复领域的重大变革。当我们将机器人和其他机电设备与人类如此密切地接触（或附着）时，我们面临的主要挑战之一是如何计划或“自动化”对人类的反应，以获得不同程度的帮助。这个过程也需要我们深入理解神经科学原理，强调基本的人类运动行为。RTI的这项提案旨在寻求资金购买一个双手辅助机器人平台，通过汇集机电一体化、控制理论、生物医学工程、神经科学和神经康复方面的专家来解决这些问题。超越传统学科的界限，这项研究的目的是1）理解人类感觉运动学习背后的计算机制，2）实现具有人类灵巧性的生物启发机器人操作，3）开发机器人康复治疗的智能控制策略。所要求的设备预计不仅将推动正在进行的神经科学项目和生物启发机器人操作的研究项目，而且还将促进机器人辅助康复治疗的独特合作。该设备将被用作仪器外骨骼，以进行新的神经科学试验，旨在了解目标导向手臂运动的基本计算过程及其与多种感官（视觉，触觉，力和/或动觉）的相互作用。将该设备用作独立的双手机器人手臂，将开发各种运动控制算法，这些算法可以在涉及与物体和环境的物理交互的场景中复制人类手臂的灵活性和适应性。通过直接力反馈和辅助控制架构，该设备提供了一个理想的平台，为神经系统疾病患者的机器人康复开发先进的控制方法，这将导致更快的恢复时间。从长远来看，该设备所支持的研究将对广泛的领域产生影响，包括神经科学，制造自动化，医疗机器人，假肢，康复工程和老龄化人口的公共福利。这些设备可以为工程和健康科学的学生创造一个独特的培训环境，鼓励他们培养跨学科的宝贵知识。这将使他们不仅为各自的学科做好更好的准备，而且在人机界面（HMI）、医疗自动化、生物信息学和机器人医疗保健等新兴应用方面也具有竞争力。

Advances in robotics are leading major changes in health care, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation. As we bring robots and other mechatronic devices in such a close contact with (or attachment to) humans, one of major challenges we face is how we should plan or “automate” the reactions to humans for different levels of assistance. This process also entails our in-depth understanding of neuroscientific principles that underline basic human motor behaviors. This RTI proposal seeks funding to purchase a bimanual assistive robotic platform to address these issues by bringing together experts in mechatronics, control theory, biomedical engineering, neuroscience and neuro-rehabilitation. Going beyond the boundaries of conventional disciplines, this research is aimed at 1) understanding computational mechanisms behind human sensorimotor learning, 2) realizing biologically-inspired robotic manipulation with human-like dexterity, and 3) developing intelligent control strategies for robotic rehabilitation therapies. The requested equipment is expected not only to propel on-going research projects for neuroscience programs and bio-inspired robotic manipulation, but also to foster a unique collaboration on robot-assisted rehabilitation therapies. The equipment will be used as an instrumented exoskeleton to carry out novel neuroscientific trials designed to understand underlying computational processes of goal-directed arm movements and their interplay with multiple modalities of senses (visual, tactile, force, and/or kinesthetic). Using the equipment as a stand-alone bimanual robotic arm, various motion control algorithms will be developed, which can replicate the dexterity and adaptability of human arms, in scenarios involving physical interactions with objects and the environment. Enabled by direct force feedback and assistive control architecture, the equipment serves an ideal platform to develop advanced control methods for robotic rehabilitation for patients with neurological disorders, which will lead to quicker recovery times. In the long term, the research to be enabled by the equipment will have impact on a wide range of areas, including neuroscience, manufacturing automation, medical robots, prosthetics, rehabilitation engineering, and public welfare for aging populations. The equipment can create a unique training environment for students in both engineering and health sciences by encouraging them to cultivate valuable knowledge sets blended across disciplines. This will make them not only better prepared for their respective disciplines, but also competitively qualified for emerging applications such as human-machine interface (HMI), medical automation, bioinformatics and robotic healthcare.