title: Soft artificial tactile sensors for the measurement of human-robot interaction in the rehabilitation of the lower limb.
abstract: A new and alternative method to measure the interaction force between the user and a lower-limb gait rehabilitation exoskeleton is presented. Instead of using a load cell to measure the resulting interaction force, we propose a distributed measure of the normal interaction pressure over the whole contact area between the user and the machine. To obtain this measurement, a soft silicone tactile sensor is inserted between the limb and commonly used connection cuffs. The advantage of this approach is that it allows for a distributed measure of the interaction pressure, which could be useful for rehabilitation therapy assessment purposes, or for control. Moreover, the proposed solution does not change the comfort of the interaction; can be applied to connection cuffs of different shapes and sizes; and can be manufactured at a low cost. Preliminary results during gait assistance tasks show that this approach can precisely detect changes in the pressure distribution during a gait cycle.
authors.affiliation: ARTS Lab, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (Pi), Italy. s.derossi@sssup.it
authors.forename: S M M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: De Rossi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vitiello
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lenzi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ronsse
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koopman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Persichetti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giovacchini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vecchi
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ijspeert
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van der Kooij
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Carrozza
mesh_terms: D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008328:Man-Machine Systems; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015915:Motion Therapy, Continuous Passive / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014159:Transducers