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Suglia V, Palazzo L, Bevilacqua V, Passantino A, Pagano G, D’Addio G. A Novel Framework Based on Deep Learning Architecture for Continuous Human Activity Recognition with Inertial Sensors. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:2199. [PMID: 38610410 PMCID: PMC11014138 DOI: 10.3390/s24072199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Frameworks for human activity recognition (HAR) can be applied in the clinical environment for monitoring patients' motor and functional abilities either remotely or within a rehabilitation program. Deep Learning (DL) models can be exploited to perform HAR by means of raw data, thus avoiding time-demanding feature engineering operations. Most works targeting HAR with DL-based architectures have tested the workflow performance on data related to a separate execution of the tasks. Hence, a paucity in the literature has been found with regard to frameworks aimed at recognizing continuously executed motor actions. In this article, the authors present the design, development, and testing of a DL-based workflow targeting continuous human activity recognition (CHAR). The model was trained on the data recorded from ten healthy subjects and tested on eight different subjects. Despite the limited sample size, the authors claim the capability of the proposed framework to accurately classify motor actions within a feasible time, thus making it potentially useful in a clinical scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimiro Suglia
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering (DEI), Polytechnic University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (V.S.); (L.P.); (V.B.)
| | - Lucia Palazzo
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering (DEI), Polytechnic University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (V.S.); (L.P.); (V.B.)
- Scientific Clinical Institutes Maugeri SPA SB IRCCS, 70124 Bari, Italy; (A.P.); (G.D.)
| | - Vitoantonio Bevilacqua
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering (DEI), Polytechnic University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (V.S.); (L.P.); (V.B.)
- Apulian Bioengineering S.R.L.,Via delle Violette 14, 70026 Modugno, Italy
| | - Andrea Passantino
- Scientific Clinical Institutes Maugeri SPA SB IRCCS, 70124 Bari, Italy; (A.P.); (G.D.)
| | - Gaetano Pagano
- Scientific Clinical Institutes Maugeri SPA SB IRCCS, 70124 Bari, Italy; (A.P.); (G.D.)
| | - Giovanni D’Addio
- Scientific Clinical Institutes Maugeri SPA SB IRCCS, 70124 Bari, Italy; (A.P.); (G.D.)
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Okpala I, Nnaji C. Insidious risks of wearable robots to worker safety and health: A scoping review. JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH 2024; 88:382-394. [PMID: 38485381 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The construction industry is tormented by a high rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and flat or declining productivity rates. To improve construction workers' safety, health, and productivity, construction researchers and practitioners are investigating the safe implementation of exoskeletons. However, concern exists that these human-robot interactions (HRI) could amplify the effects of existing health and safety risks and lead to new health and safety risks. Only a few comprehensive studies have identified safety and health hazards inherent in using exoskeletons within construction trades and potential strategies for mitigating these threats. This study attempts to bridge this gap. METHOD A literature search was conducted using electronic databases. The authors relied on a 5-step scoping review process to examine academic publications, industry reports, and fact sheets to generate helpful information for this study. RESULTS The review revealed 36 health and safety hazards associated with using wearable robots in high-risk construction trades. Twenty-two organizational and field-facing strategies were introduced as potential controls to mitigate the identified hazards. CONCLUSIONS The study provided a knowledge-based foundation for HRI safety risk assessment and guidance to optimize pre-task planning. This foundation could lead to significant advances in construction trade safety and the successful execution of tasks by robotic technology. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Results from the present study can guide construction practitioners and safety professionals involved in technology integration and safety risk assessment on safe ways to implement wearable robots. Moreover, the present study provides critical insight that could inform the design and implementation of job hazard analysis and shape continuous education programs and safety training. This study prompts policymakers, standard developers, and exoskeleton manufacturers to work closely to ensure a safe future for exoskeletons in the construction industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ifeanyi Okpala
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, 3043 HM Comer, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, United States.
| | - Chukwuma Nnaji
- Department of Construction Science, Texas A&M University, 574 Ross St, College Station, TX 77840, United States.
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Ang BWK, Yeow CH, Lim JH. A Critical Review on Factors Affecting the User Adoption of Wearable and Soft Robotics. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:3263. [PMID: 36991974 PMCID: PMC10051244 DOI: 10.3390/s23063263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, the advent of soft robotics has changed the landscape of wearable technologies. Soft robots are highly compliant and malleable, thus ensuring safe human-machine interactions. To date, a wide variety of actuation mechanisms have been studied and adopted into a multitude of soft wearables for use in clinical practice, such as assistive devices and rehabilitation modalities. Much research effort has been put into improving their technical performance and establishing the ideal indications for which rigid exoskeletons would play a limited role. However, despite having achieved many feats over the past decade, soft wearable technologies have not been extensively investigated from the perspective of user adoption. Most scholarly reviews of soft wearables have focused on the perspective of service providers such as developers, manufacturers, or clinicians, but few have scrutinized the factors affecting adoption and user experience. Hence, this would pose a good opportunity to gain insight into the current practice of soft robotics from a user's perspective. This review aims to provide a broad overview of the different types of soft wearables and identify the factors that hinder the adoption of soft robotics. In this paper, a systematic literature search using terms such as "soft", "robot", "wearable", and "exoskeleton" was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines to include peer-reviewed publications between 2012 and 2022. The soft robotics were classified according to their actuation mechanisms into motor-driven tendon cables, pneumatics, hydraulics, shape memory alloys, and polyvinyl chloride muscles, and their pros and cons were discussed. The identified factors affecting user adoption include design, availability of materials, durability, modeling and control, artificial intelligence augmentation, standardized evaluation criteria, public perception related to perceived utility, ease of use, and aesthetics. The critical areas for improvement and future research directions to increase adoption of soft wearables have also been highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Wee Keong Ang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore; (B.W.K.A.); (C.-H.Y.)
| | - Chen-Hua Yeow
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore; (B.W.K.A.); (C.-H.Y.)
| | - Jeong Hoon Lim
- Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119074, Singapore
- Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, University Medicine Cluster, National University Hospital, Singapore 119077, Singapore
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Shi Y, Dong W, Lin W, Gao Y. Soft Wearable Robots: Development Status and Technical Challenges. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:7584. [PMID: 36236683 PMCID: PMC9573304 DOI: 10.3390/s22197584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, more and more research has begun to focus on the flexible and lightweight design of wearable robots. During this process, many novel concepts and achievements have been continuously made and shown to the public, while new problems have emerged at the same time, which need to be solved. In this paper, we give an overview of the development status of soft wearable robots for human movement assistance. On the basis of a clear definition, we perform a system classification according to the target assisted joint and attempt to describe the overall prototype design level in related fields. Additionally, it is necessary to sort out the latest research progress of key technologies such as structure, actuation, control and evaluation, thereby analyzing the design ideas and basic characteristics of them. Finally, we discuss the possible application fields, and propose the main challenges of this valuable research direction.
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Rayssiguie E, Erden MS. A Review of Exoskeletons Considering Nurses. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:s22187035. [PMID: 36146385 PMCID: PMC9501849 DOI: 10.3390/s22187035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Daily tasks of nurses include manual handling to assist patients. Repetitive manual handling leads to high risk of injuries due to the loads on nurses' bodies. Nurses, in hospitals and care homes, can benefit from the advances in exoskeleton technology assisting their manual handling tasks. There are already exoskeletons both in the market and in the research area made to assist physical workers to handle heavy loads. However, those exoskeletons are mostly designed for men, as most physical workers are men, whereas most nurses are women. In the case of nurses, they handle patients, a more delicate task than handling objects, and any such device used by nurses should easily be disinfected. In this study, the needs of nurses are examined, and a review of the state-of-the-art exoskeletons is conducted from the perspective of to what extent the existing technologies address the needs of nurses. Possible solutions and technologies and particularly the needs that have not been addressed by the existing technologies are discussed.
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Lee J, Kim H, Yang W. Development of Wrist Interface Based on Fully Actuated Coaxial Spherical Parallel Mechanism for Force Interaction. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21238073. [PMID: 34884077 PMCID: PMC8659704 DOI: 10.3390/s21238073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
To develop a wrist robotic exoskeleton-type interface (REI) for force interaction, it should have a suitable range of motion similar to human wrist activities of daily living, large torque output performance, and low moving parts inertia for dynamic motion response to cover the human behavior frequency. In this paper, a wrist REI based on a fully actuated coaxial spherical parallel mechanism (CSPM) is proposed to satisfy the aforementioned features. The fully actuated CSPM-based wrist REI (FC-WREI) has the characteristics of pure rotation similar to the human wrist, high torque output by parallel torque synthesis, and low moving parts inertia due to the base arrangement of the actuators. Due to the mechanical advantages and design optimization, the FC-WREI maximally provides torque as much as 56.49–130.43% of the maximum isometric torque of the human wrist, while providing a consistent range of motion to the human wrist without interference problem. Moreover, it is confirmed that the inertia of the FC-WREI is up to 5.35 times lower than similar devices. These advantages of the FC-WREI mean that the device is applicable to various fields of REIs for force interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeyong Lee
- School of Robotics, Kwangwoon University, 20 Kwangwoon-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01897, Korea;
| | - Hyungjoo Kim
- Hyundai Motor Company, Crash Safety, Saimdang-ro 17-gil 116 101-1105, Seoul 01897, Korea;
| | - Woosung Yang
- School of Robotics, Kwangwoon University, 20 Kwangwoon-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01897, Korea;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +82-940-8115
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Babič J, Laffranchi M, Tessari F, Verstraten T, Novak D, Šarabon N, Ugurlu B, Peternel L, Torricelli D, Veneman JF. Challenges and solutions for application and wider adoption of wearable robots. WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES 2021; 2:e14. [PMID: 38486636 PMCID: PMC10936284 DOI: 10.1017/wtc.2021.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/18/2021] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
The science and technology of wearable robots are steadily advancing, and the use of such robots in our everyday life appears to be within reach. Nevertheless, widespread adoption of wearable robots should not be taken for granted, especially since many recent attempts to bring them to real-life applications resulted in mixed outcomes. The aim of this article is to address the current challenges that are limiting the application and wider adoption of wearable robots that are typically worn over the human body. We categorized the challenges into mechanical layout, actuation, sensing, body interface, control, human-robot interfacing and coadaptation, and benchmarking. For each category, we discuss specific challenges and the rationale for why solving them is important, followed by an overview of relevant recent works. We conclude with an opinion that summarizes possible solutions that could contribute to the wider adoption of wearable robots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Babič
- Laboratory for Neuromechanics and Biorobotics, Department of Automation, Biocybernetics and Robotics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Matteo Laffranchi
- Rehab Technologies Lab, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - Federico Tessari
- Rehab Technologies Lab, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - Tom Verstraten
- Robotics & Multibody Mechanics Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders Make, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Domen Novak
- University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Nejc Šarabon
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Izola, Slovenia
| | - Barkan Ugurlu
- Biomechatronics Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, Ozyegin University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Luka Peternel
- Delft Haptics Lab, Department of Cognitive Robotics, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Diego Torricelli
- Cajal Institute, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
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Soft Exoskeletons: Development, Requirements, and Challenges of the Last Decade. ACTUATORS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/act10070166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In this article, various investigations on soft exoskeletons are presented and their functional and structural characteristics are analyzed. The present work is oriented to the studies of the last decade and covers the upper and lower joints, specifically the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee, and ankle. Its functionality, applicability, and main characteristics are exposed, such as degrees of freedom, force, actuators, power transmission methods, control systems, and sensors. The purpose of this work is to show the current trend in the development of soft exoskeletons, in addition to specifying the essential characteristics that must be considered in its design and the challenges that its construction implies.
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