Wearable Upper limb motion assist device based on compliant parallel mechanism

• Project/Area Number: 15H03054
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: ARATA Jumpei 九州大学, 工学研究院, 准教授 (40377586)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 橋爪 誠 九州大学, 医学研究院, 教授 (90198664) ; 木口 量夫 九州大学, 工学研究院, 教授 (90269548)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
• Budget Amount: ¥17,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,930,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥5,330,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,230,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥7,280,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,680,000)
• Keywords: エグゾスケルトン / 機構 / 日常生活動作 / リハビリテーション / 運動支援ロボット / 知能機械 / 知能ロボティックス / 医療・福祉 / 医療・福祉ロボット / 知能ロボティクス / 機構学 / リハビリテーションロボット / 日常生活支援 / 柔軟メカニズム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, we have successfully developed a new compliant-parallel mechanism that has a two springs parallelly located and showed its feasibility. The advantages of presented system are: 1. The proposed mechanism deforms according to the wearer’s motion along with the body surface thus not prohibit the user’s motion. 2. The intrinsic spring flexibility avoids the excess load to the wearer’s limb. 3. The spring flexibility also plays a key role to avoid the excess force even the joint center is moving -which is often a major issue for a rigid mechanism.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Low-profile Two-degree-of-freedom Wrist Exoskeleton Device using Multiple Spring Blades (2018)
  • Author(s): Tomohito Higuma、Kazuo Kiguchi、Jumpei Arata
  • Journal Title: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Volume: 3(1) Issue: 1 Pages: 305-311
  • DOI: 10.1109/lra.2017.2739802
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Low-profile Two-degree-of-freedom Wrist Exoskeleton Device using Multiple Spring Blades (2018)
  • Author(s): Tomohito Higuma、Kazuo Kiguchi、Jumpei Arata
  • Organizer: Conference on Intelligent Robots And Systems (IROS)
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] SMOVE: Hand exoskeleton device for rehabilitation -Overview and its mechanical design- (2018)
  • Author(s): Tomohito Higuma、Taiki Yuasa、Jumpei Arata
  • Organizer: International Functional Reconstruction of the Hand (IFRH)
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] 遠隔に動力配置するリハビリ用ハンドエグゾスケルトン装置に関する研究 (2017)
  • Author(s): 日隈友仁、湯淺太煕、金澤昌範、迎伸孝、橋爪誠、木口量夫、荒田純平
  • Organizer: 日本機械学会ロボティクスメカトロニクス講演会
• [Presentation] ばね要素を複合的に用いた柔軟な手首機構を有する前腕部運動支援装置の開発ー柔軟要素による動作支援機構開発に関する報告ー (2016)
  • Author(s): 日隈友仁，金澤昌範，木口量夫，荒田純平
  • Organizer: 日本機械学会ロボティクスメカトロニクス講演会
  • Place of Presentation: 横浜
  • Year and Date: 2016-06-08
• [Patent(Industrial Property Rights)] 並列ばねによる2自由度回転機構 (2016)
  • Inventor(s): 荒田純平, 橋爪誠
  • Industrial Property Rights Holder: 荒田純平, 橋爪誠
  • Industrial Property Rights Type: 特許
  • Filing Date: 2016-06-07