Usability of a Joystick-Controlled Six Degree-of-Freedom Robotic Manipulator
By Routhier, Francois; Archambault, Philippe S.; RESNA Annual Conference - 2010,Publication Date: 2010
Paper presents preliminary results of usability testing of a new joystick controlled six-degrees-of-freedom robotic manipulator in terms of accomplishing motor tasks performed with the upper limb. The JACO manipulator is a lightweight wheelchair-mounted robotic device designed to compensate for upper limb impairments. It consists of six interlinked segments, the last of which is a three-fingered hand. Through the joystick controller, the user can (1) move the robot’s hand in three-dimensional space while the robot maintains the orientation of the hand; (2) modify the orientation of the hand while keeping it centered at the same point in space; and (3) control opening and closing of the hand with two or three fingers. JACO can reach approximately 1 meter in all directions and can lift objects of up to 2.5 kilograms. JACO was tested with 27 powered wheelchair users who performed tasks such as grasping and moving objects, pushing buttons on a calculator, and filling a glass with water from a bottle. Participants were generally able to successfully accomplish the tasks on their first attempt. Moreover, they globally identified these tasks as easy to perform and of relative daily life importance.
Published by: Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) (Website:http://www.resna.org)
Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) (Web Site: http://www.resna.org )
Link to text: http://web.resna.org/library/conference_2010/Other/RouthierF.html
