Personalized Assist-As-Needed Dressing Assistance Robot without Human Modeling using Rowat-Selverston CPG Controller
Résumé
Dressing is a critical component of Activity of Daily Living (ADLs). The development of assistive
technology for dressing tasks is urgently needed from the viewpoint of privacy, for example,
to prevent the wearer from being seen in the nude. Despite their importance, these technologies
are underutilized in garment donning compared to other ADLs. The reasons for the lack of
utilization of assistive technology are that the task is complex, as it involves handling individuals
with large individual differences in height and symptoms and requires manipulation
of flexible clothing. Addressing these variances presents a formidable academic challenge. Our
previous study identified periodic patterns in human movements during robot-assisted dressing
and noted individual variability in these patterns. Capitalizing on this finding, we propose a
novel control strategy for a robot that adapts to individual needs during dressing, employing
the "Assist-As-Needed" (AAN) principle from physical therapy. The proposed control method
uses Central Pattern Generators (CPG) that can be synchronously controlled in response to
external forces, enabling model-free control without human modeling.
We utilize the Rowat-Selverston CPG model, which is recognized for its adaptive response
to human motions in human-robot interactions such as with handshaking robots. A simulator
of the Rowat-Selverston CPG was created. The output of the CPG was confirmed by inputting
the data set obtained in previous studies, and the parameters were adjusted. The CPG output
was then applied to the recorded target joint trajectory for the dressing assistance. We prepared
a replay of the default trajectory, a trajectory with simple harmonic motion applied, and a trajectory
with CPG output applied, and confirmed whether individual adaptation according to
the AAN was possible through subject experiments. The experimental results showed that the
Rowat-Selverston CPG control method enables individual adaptive dressing assistance according
to the AAN principle. This study summarizes these methods and results and contributes
to the realization of an individually adaptive system that follows the AAN principle, especially
in developing assistive technology.