Development of a neurorehabilitation system using haptic substitution and motion substitution as external stimuli

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19KK0367
• Research Category: Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research (A))
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Power engineering/Power conversion/Electric machinery
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: Nozaki Takahiro 慶應義塾大学, 理工学部(矢上), 准教授 (20734479)
• Project Period (FY): 2020 – 2023
• Keywords: 動作解析 / 力センサ / 近接覚センサ / ニューロリハビリテーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted research on robot-assisted neuro-rehabilitation with Dr. Hermano Igo Krebs and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Three types of tests, Discrete Movement, Rhythmic Movement, and Target Transition, were conducted to clarify the mechanism of human force generation. The results suggest that "the differential value of the force that humans can generate is sufficiently large, and that the response speed is due to visual information," "humans anticipate slight future movements and try to improve their movements," and "the law of superposition holds for the differential value of force. In addition, we succeeded in developing a new proximity sensor that can simultaneously measure distance, angle, and force. The research results were published in an international journal with Impact Factor 8.236 and received an award from the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Free Research Field

ロボット工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、人間が力を生成する仕組みを探った。得られた結果は、脳や神経の可塑性を活用し身体機能の回復を促すニューロリハビリテーションや、人間が装置を操作する際に必要となるヒューマンインタフェースの設計において有用性が期待される。また、新たに開発したセンサは人間の動作情報の取得や、ロボットの制御において活用することで、多様な用途に応用可能である。