Development of Tremor Suppression Control System Using Adaptive Filter and Its Application to Meal-assist Robot

Abstract

A robot that supports independent living by assisting with eating and other activities which use the operator's own hand would be helpful for people suffering from tremors of the hand or any other body part. The proposed system using adaptive filter estimates tremor frequencies with a time-varying property and individual differences online. In this study, the estimated frequency is used to adjusting the tremor suppression filter which insulates the voluntary motion signal from the sensor signal containing tremor components. These system are integrated into the control system of the Meal-Assist Robot. As a result, the developed system makes it possible for the person with a tremor to manipulate the supporting robot without causing operability to deteriorate and without hazards due to improper operation.