Study on an overhead robot arm to assist walking of the elderly (1st report) - Control with force sensors

Abstract

Since our society is rapidly aging, equipment to assist daily living of the elderly becomes important. Rehabilitation robotics or mechatronics is one solution to realize such equipment. This paper describes a prototype development of an overhead robot arm to assist walking of elderly persons. For effective use in Japanese houses, the arm is mounted on a rail. Because of the rigid construction of this arm, the user can grasp the arm and recover his/her posture to prevent falling down. Force sensors are used both to provide an easy-to-use interface and to realize safety. The sensors can detect forces both horizontally and vertically. Thresholds of forces were determined to detect the user's intention to move as well as for safety considerations. Preliminary experiments resulted that the arm could follow the standing up, walking and sitting down of the subject. It was proved that the use of force sensors was effective to control the system.