Soft robotics hold promise in the development of safe yet powered assistive wearable devices for infants. Key to this is the development of closed-loop controllers that can help regulate pneumatic pressure in the device's actuators in an effort to induce controlled motion at the user's limbs and be able to track different types of trajectories. This work develops a controller for soft pneumatic actuators aimed to power a pediatric soft wearable robotic device prototype for upper extremity motion assistance. The controller tracks desired trajectories for a system of soft pneumatic actuators supporting two-degree-of-freedom shoulder joint motion on an infant-sized engineered mannequin. The degrees of freedom assisted by the actuators are equivalent to shoulder motion (abduction/adduction and flexion/extension). Embedded inertial measurement unit sensors provide real-time joint feedback. Experimental data from performing reaching tasks using the engineered mannequin are obtained and compared against ground truth to evaluate the performance of the developed controller. Results reveal the proposed controller leads to accurate trajectory tracking performance across a variety of shoulder joint motions.

This work focuses on closed-loop control based on proprioceptive feedback for a pneumatically-actuated soft wearable device aimed at future support of infant reaching tasks. The device comprises two soft pneumatic actuators (one textile-based and one silicone-casted) actively controlling two degrees-of-freedom per arm (shoulder adduction/abduction and elbow flexion/extension, respectively). Inertial measurement units (IMUs) attached to the wearable device provide real-time joint angle feedback. Device kinematics analysis is informed by anthropometric data from infants (arm lengths) reported in the literature. Range of motion and muscle co-activation patterns in infant reaching are considered to derive desired trajectories for the device’s end-effector. Then, a proportional-derivative controller is developed to regulate the pressure inside the actuators and in turn move the arm along desired setpoints within the reachable workspace. Experimental results on tracking desired arm trajectories using an engineered mannequin are presented, demonstrating that the proposed controller can help guide the mannequin’s wrist to the desired setpoints.

This paper presents the design and assessment of a fabric-based soft pneumatic actuator with low pressurization requirements for actuation making it suitable for upper extremity assistive devices for infants. The goal is to support shoulder abduction and adduction without prohibiting motion in other planes or obstructing elbow joint motion. First, the performance of a family of actuator designs with internal air cells is explored via simulation. The actuators are parameterized by the number of cells and their width. Physically viable actuator variants identified through the simulation are further tested via hardware experiments. Two designs are selected and tested on a custom-built physical model based on an infant’s body anthropometrics. Comparisons between force exerted to lift the arm, movement smoothness, path length and maximum shoulder angle reached inform which design is better suited for its use as an actuator for pediatric wearable assistive devices, along with other insights for future work.

This work investigates the deployment of an affordable socially assistive robot (SAR) at an older adult day care setting for the screening of COVID-19 symptoms and exposure. Despite the focus on older adults, other stakeholders (clinicians and caregivers) were included in the study due to the need for daily COVID-19 screening. The investigation considered which aspects of human-robot-interaction (HRI) are relevant when designing social agents for patient screening. The implementation was based upon the current screening procedure adopted by the deployment facility, and translated into robot dialogues and gesturing motion. Post-interaction surveys with participants informed their preferences for the type of interaction and system usability. Observer surveys evaluated users’ reaction, verbal and physical engagement. Results indicated general acceptance of the social agent and possible improvements to the current version of the robot to encourage a broader adoption by the stakeholders.

We propose a serpentine type tendon driven underactuated end-effector design with a closing mechanism that is triggered upon contact with an object. This end-effector can grasp objects without knowing the size a priori and is able to grasp a new object while securing another one previously grasped, and so grasp multiple objects sequentially with a single DOF actuation. Design parameters based on the object dimensions are proposed. A low-cost prototype demonstrates two implementations (radius estimation and autonomous grasp of circular objects by torque control, and sequential grasps of multiple objects) of the end-effector through several experiments. A method for estimating applied internal forces is also proposed. This end-effector can benefit robotic manipulation in tasks such as fetching applications, industrial pick-and-place of single or multiple objects and human-robot hand-off interactions.

In this paper a novel telescopic manipulator was adapted to a mobile robotic base to perform manipulation tasks in an elder care facility. As indicated by our previous work, leisure activities and engagement in socialization were desirable among elders, and a physical game assisted by the robot was chosen to investigate both its acceptance and interaction with the older adults. The robot was deployed at an assisted living center and performed multiple interactions. The manipulator was able to successfully retrieve items from different heights as part of the game and results from post-interaction surveys with elders indicated high perceived usefulness and comfort in having the robot as an assistant in the game.

This paper presents findings from two deployments of an autonomous mobile robot in older adult low income Supportive Apartment Living (SAL) facilities. Design guidelines for the robot hardware and software were based on query of clinicians, caregivers and older adults through focus groups, member checks and surveys, to identify what each group believed to be the most important daily activities for older adults to accomplish physically, mentally and socially. After data analysis, hydration and walking encouragement were found to be critical daily activities, becoming the focus of our deployments. The aim of the deployments was to understand the efficacy of human-robot interaction and identify ways to enhance the robot design and programming. Through observation of older adults interacting with the robot and post-interaction surveys filled out by the older adults, conclusions were drawn for further advancement of the robot development to be tested in future deployments. Results overall indicated high perceived usefulness and growing acceptance of the robot by older adults with increased interactions.