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Assistive mobile robots can play an important role in supporting individuals with disabilities. While the field of robot control interfaces for individuals with disabilities is growing, there is little work done on such systems for children end users specifically. Accordingly, we pursued the design of an adapted robot control interface for use in child pediatric occupational therapy (OT). Our target end user, a nine-year-old child with cerebral palsy, leveraged the interface to perform instrumental activities of daily living (e.g., play) with a modern mobile manipulator. We used an iterative design process to adjust and improve the interface via input from the participant’s caregivers and occupational therapist, as well as objective participant performance data. Furthermore, we tested the participant’s ability to utilize our interface by creating two testing cases: a control case (in which our participant performed standard ALD/IADL tasks) and an experimental case (in which our participant performed ADL/IADL practice activities more tailored toward the child). Key insights during the process included the need for sensitivity to taking up space on the child user’s existing power wheelchair, the advantages of integrating technologies familiar to the child (e.g., gaming controls, iPads) in our system design, and the potential value of integrating playful mischief (including playful interactions between the child, their caregivers, and their clinicians) as a part of the playbook for pediatric OT. This work can serve to inform and augment new OT strategies for the marginalized population of young children with disabilities.
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High-density electromyography for effective gesture-based control of physically assistive mobile manipulators
Abstract High-density electromyography (HDEMG) can detect myoelectric activity as control inputs to a variety of electronically-controlled devices. Furthermore, HDEMG sensors may be built into a variety of clothing, allowing for a non-intrusive myoelectric interface that is integrated into a user’s routine. In our work, we introduce an easily-producible HDEMG device that interfaces with the control of a mobile manipulator to perform a range of household and physically assistive tasks. Mobile manipulators can operate throughout the home and are applicable for a spectrum of assistive and daily tasks in the home. We evaluate the use of real-time myoelectric gesture recognition using our device to enable precise control over the intricate mobility and manipulation functionalities of an 8 degree-of-freedom mobile manipulator. Our evaluation, involving 13 participants engaging in challenging self-care and household activities, demonstrates the potential of our wearable HDEMG system to control a mobile manipulator in the home.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2341352
- PAR ID:
- 10568380
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- npj Robotics
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2731-4278
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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