Exploiting Intrinsic Kinematic Null Space for Supernumerary Robotic Limbs Control
Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics, University of Siena（信息工程与数学系，锡耶纳大学）；department of Humanoids and Human Centered Mechatronics (HHCM), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia（人形与以人为中心的机电一体化系（HHCM），意大利理工学院）；Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina（生物医学与牙科学及形态功能成像系，梅斯纳大学）；Center for Information and Neural Networks, Advanced ICT Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology（信息与神经网络中心，先进ICT研究机构，日本信息与通信技术研究院）；Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia（神经运动生理实验室，IRCCS圣拉齐娅基金会）
Supernumerary robotic limbs (SRLs) gained increasing interest in the last years for their applicability as healthcare and assistive technologies. These devices can either support or augment human sensorimotor capabilities, allowing users to complete tasks that are more complex than those feasible for their natural limbs. However, for a successful coordination between natural and artificial limbs, intuitiveness of interaction and perception of autonomy are key enabling features, especially for people suffering from motor disorders and impairments. The development of suitable human-robot interfaces is thus fundamental to foster the adoption of SRLs.
With this work, we describe how to control an extra degree of freedom by taking advantage of what we defined the Intrinsic Kinematic Null Space, i.e. the redundancy of the human kinematic chain involved in the ongoing task. Obtained results demonstrated that the proposed control strategy is effective for performing complex tasks with a supernumerary robotic finger, and that practice improves users' control ability.
Loss of upper extremity motor control and function is an unremitting symptom in post-stroke patients. This would impose hardships on accomplishing their daily life activities. Supernumerary robotic limbs (SRLs) were introduced as a solution to regain the lost Degrees of Freedom (DoFs) by introducing an independent new limb. The actuation systems in SRL can be categorized into rigid and soft actuators. Soft actuators have proven advantageous over their rigid counterparts through intrinsic safety, cost, and energy efficiency. However, they suffer from low stiffness, which jeopardizes their accur…
Wearable robotics bring the opportunity to augment human capability and performance, be it through prosthetics, exoskeletons, or supernumerary robotic limbs. The latter concept allows enhancing human performance and assisting them in daily tasks. An important research question is, however, whether the use of such devices can lead to their eventual cognitive embodiment, allowing the user to adapt to them and use them seamlessly as any other limb of their own. This paper describes the creation of a platform to investigate this. Our supernumerary robotic 3rd thumb was created to augment piano pla…
EMG-based Control Strategies of a Supernumerary Robotic Hand for the Rehabilitation of Sub-Acute Stroke Patients: Proof of Concept
Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia（意大利技术研究院）；Università di Pisa（比萨大学）；University of Genova（热那亚大学）；IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino（IRCCS圣马蒂诺综合医院）
Innovative Design of Multi-functional Supernumerary Robotic Limbs with Ellipsoid Workspace Optimization
Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Image Processing and Intelligent Control（教育部图像处理与智能控制重点实验室）；Hubei Key Laboratory of Brain-inspired Intelligent Systems（湖北省脑启发式智能系统重点实验室）；School of Artificial Intelligence and Automation（人工智能与自动化学院）；State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Vehicle Safety Technology（智能车辆安全技术国家重点实验室）；Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd（重庆长安汽车有限公司）；School of Information Engineering（信息工程学院）；Univ Paris-Est Créteil（巴黎-est创造大学）
Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRLs) exhibit inherently compliant behavior due to the elasticity present at the intersection of human tissue and the robot. This compliance, can prominently influence the operation of some SRLs, depending on the application. In order to control the residual vibrations of SRLs, we have used an input-shaping method which is a computationally inexpensive approach. The effectiveness of this method in controlling the residual vibrations of a SRL has been proven using robustness analysis. User studies show that reducing the vibrations using input shaping directly increa…
A Human Motion Compensation Framework for a Supernumerary Robotic Arm
Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院沈阳自动化研究所）；Institutes for Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院机器人与智能制造创新研究院）；Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia（意大利理工学院）
Compensation Effect Amplification Control (CEAC): A movement-based approach for coordinated position and velocity control of the elbow of upper-limb prostheses
Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INSERM, Institute for Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR)（索邦大学、国家科学研究中心、法国国家卫生研究院、智能系统与机器人研究所）
Robotic sensorimotor extensions (supernumerary limbs, prosthesis, handheld tools) are worn devices used to interact with the nearby environment, whether to assist the capabilities of impaired users or to enhance the dexterity of industrial operators. Despite numerous mechanical achievements, embedding these robotics devices remains critical due to their weight and discomfort. To emancipate from these mechanical constraints, we propose a new hybrid system using a virtually worn robotic arm in augmented-reality, and a real robotic manipulator servoed on such virtual representation. We aim at bri…
Mitigating Compensatory Movements in Prosthesis Users via Adaptive Collaborative Robotics
Human-Robot Interfaces and Interaction, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia（人机交互与交互，意大利技术研究院）；Dept. of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering, University of Genoa（信息学、生物工程、机器人与系统工程系，热那亚大学）
Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine（帝国理工学院）；Nanyang Technological University（南洋理工大学）
Many teleoperation tasks require three or more tools working together, which need the cooperation of multiple operators. The effectiveness of such schemes may be limited by communication. Trimanipulation by a single operator using an artificial third arm controlled together with their natural arms is a promising solution to this issue. Foot-controlled interfaces have previously shown the capability to be used for the continuous control of robot arms. However, the use of such interfaces for controlling a supernumerary robotic limb (SRLs) in coordination with the natural limbs, is not well under…
Southern University of Science and Technology（南方科技大学）
Many researchers have identified robotics as a potential solution to the aging population faced by many developed and developing countries. If so, how should we address the cognitive acceptance and ambient control of elderly assistive robots through design? In this paper, we proposed an explorative design of an ambient SuperLimb (Supernumerary Robotic Limb) system that involves a pneumatically-driven robotic cane for at-home motion assistance, an inflatable vest for compliant human-robot interaction, and a depth sensor for ambient intention detection. The proposed system aims at providing acti…
Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRLs) are wearable robots augmenting human capabilities by acting as a co-worker, reaching objects, support human arms, etc. However, existing SRLs lack the mechanical backdrivability and bandwidth required for tasks where the interaction forces must be controllable such as painting, manipulating fragile objects, etc. Being highly backdrivable with a high bandwidth while minimizing weight presents a major technological challenge imposed by the limited performances of conventional electromagnetic actuators. This paper studies the feasibility of using magnetorheologi…
