RERC on Rehabilitation Robotics, consists of a collection of research projects designed to aid persons with manipulative disabilities. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is the primary sponsor of this program. The projects are run under the aegis of the Rehabilitation Robotics research laboratory, at ASEL.
This Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center provides a balanced approach of advanced research, technology development, and information dissemination which will:
The primary focus of the core projects is on effective interaction between robots and people who experience difficulties with mobility or manipulation. The core research projects range from speculative projects on the leading edge of technology to projects that explore innovative and common sense solutions to practical problems. The center has affiliation between the research projects and the people who will benefit from the work. This is vital to ensure that the research will be appropriate. This liaison is achieved by promoting interaction between consumers and researchers and using consumers both to define the research areas and undertake the work. The center disseminates the information gathered in the research and seeks partners in industrial sectors. The information arising from this research is disseminated by a number of vehicles, including existing databases and summer workshops to be held at the Center. It is the mission of this Center, as part of the larger rehabilitation community of advocates, service providers, educators, researchers, and manufacturers, to provide individuals with disabilities the most effective function possible so that they may pursue their educational, vocational, and independent living goals.
This Center on Robotics to Enhance the Functioning of Individuals with Disabilities is responsive to the mission of the NIDRR. The activities of this Center reflect the philosophy that engineering and technology in rehabilitation extend beyond the traditional limitations of technical research. This program incorporates engineering research with other disciplines to address important consumer needs, and joins with others in the rehabilitation field in moving the solutions into reality.
This RERC is administered by the University of Delaware's Center for Applied Science and Engineering in Rehabilitation, which is part of the Applied Science and Engineering Laboratories (ASEL). The ASEL united the research activities of the University Center and the Department of Applied Science and Engineering at the A.I. duPont Institute. Much of the robotics research supported by this RERC builds upon the foundation of prior robotics research conducted at the ASEL. The contribution of this new RERC is to:
The activities proposed in this application comprise a comprehensive effort to overcome these concerns by conducting research authorized under the priority. The results of the proposed projects will develop:
This RERC presents a comprehensive plan for 13 research projects and an information program.
The work included in this Center is responsive to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities. These include individuals of all ages, with a variety of disabling conditions. This RERC addresses the manipulation needs of a significant portion of the national population including children and adults with cerebral palsy, children and adults with brain injury, adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, adults with a disability due to a brain stem infarction (including Locked in Syndrome), children and adults with arthrogryposis, children and adults with spinal cord injury, and the elderly. Members of these groups may have difficulty using their hands for control and manipulation of their environments. Each individual research project identifies the group of individuals it serves, and identifies the communication problems it addresses and the outcomes it anticipates.
In addition to the potential users of robotic technology, this RERC understands that it has an obligation to meet the needs of service providers including clinicians, educators, and administrators. This includes providing them with new tools with which to better serve individuals with disabilities, and objective information on which they can base their recommendations and prescriptions. Since robotics in rehabilitation is relatively new, few clinicians are aware of the potential and even fewer are trained in the use of the technology. This RERC will address the training needs of clinicians through its Information Program.
The RERC recognizes that the most effective way to increase the availability of new devices is to encourage the development of a strong, private sector manufacturing community. The RERC understands that there are very few manufacturers involved in rehabilitation robotics and that it has the responsibility of promoting growth in the industry.
As the sole NIDRR center addressing Rehabilitation Robotics research, this RERC has the additional obligation of being the focal point for other technology and clinical researchers in the field. The RERC will provide a source of information on all aspects of Rehabilitation Robotics by providing timely and useful information on request to individuals and through mailings of key researchers. It will also serve this constituency by coordinating and participating in conferences that bring researchers together with individuals with disabilities, service providers, and manufacturers.
The choice of these themes closely follows the technology-related research needs identified by consumers, families, clinicians, researchers, and manufacturers.
A very important area of research is to define new interface strategies that give the individual maximum operation of the machine, while minimizing the effort and inconvenience to the operator. This research theme will study four new strategies that promise to enhance the operation of a robot. One looks at direct control and draws upon the NIDRR R&D project established at the University of Delaware. That project is limited to individuals with high level spinal cord injuries. The complementary project in this RERC will use the same "test-bed" and expand the application of the proprioceptive control to populations of individuals with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and arthrogryposis. The theme examines an alternative to command-based strategies with an examination of multi-modal user direction of a robot. This allows a user to mix pointing and commands in an effective system. Consideration is given to users who have very limited output and can operate only one or two switches. Extensive use of predictive control and robot path planning will be made to minimize the demands on the user. This theme also includes a project that studies the control of a powered orthosis that incorporates movements of the user's limbs and allow increased range of motion and function. Projects under this theme are:
The final project responds to the overwhelming concerns by individuals with disabilities that rehabilitation robot systems be independent of workstations and become an extension of the person. This project modifies a Manus, wheelchair mounted robot to use the direction, control, and command strategies developed in the interface theme projects. This portable robot will be used by members of the RERC staff in personal and work-related tasks. Projects under this theme are:
The Center magnifies its impact by establishing partnerships with other groups and organizations in providing an enlarged information service. Collaboration with state Tech Act grants, universities, and professional organizations allows the RERC's information to reach increasingly larger audiences. The partnerships with national electronic database services provides widespread access of the RERC's rehabilitation robotics bibliographic information. Activities under this theme area:
Proposed under this theme are:
The project that address this theme is:
The project under this theme is:
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Last updated: November 6, 1996 by Zunaid Kazi <kazi@asel.udel.edu>