Download 20120228GradIO3ME - TU Delft Studentenportal

MASTER STUDENT PROJECT
DESIGN OF AN OPTIMAL BODY-MACHINE INTERFACE
FOR A POWERED EXOSKELETON
PROJECT BACKGROUND & PROBLEM STATEMENT
Powered exoskeleton research is a popular topic of research;
however, current exoskeleton projects focus on highly trained
and highly skilled operators in military, space, or high-risk
environments. As part of a large program (www.h-haptics.nl) that
aims to optimally combine humans with assistive robotic devices,
there is an on-going research project at TU Delft that aims to
design an exoskeleton for use by healthcare workers involved in
caring for patient in a hospital or care facility setting. This
exoskeleton needs to require very little training or effort to use.
A particular challenge is how to quickly put on and take off the
exoskeleton (don/doff). Further complicating the design of the
body-machine interface is the need to detect the intent of the
user (through force sensors) and to deal with the behaviour of the dynamic, active load that the patient
constitutes (typical exoskeletons are designed to work with passive loads).
PROJECT
The main goal of this project is to design the physical interface for the arm support mechanism used in
the powered exoskeleton being designed at TU Delft. The interface will need to integrate sensors to
detect the load being carried, sensors to detect the intent of the user, and a quick donning & doffing
mechanism - while being robust, comfortable, and visually appealing (both to the nurse, and to the
patients). The interface must be form-fitting and compact, and the student will be expected to show that
the proposed interface has minimal interference with the completion of the normal tasks that the
healthcare workers must perform. A list of such tasks will be provided for the student.
The student on this project will be responsible for conducting background research on existing solutions,
proposing a workable solution, and designing & building a prototype for testing purposes. This posting is
available immediately.
Prof.dr.ir. R.H.M. Goossens
ir. J.F. Schorsch
Room: C-3-140
phone: +31 (0)15 27 86340
e-mail: [email protected]
(principal contact)
room: 5A-01-03
phone: (+31) 15 27 89580
e-mail: [email protected]