Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Athar Ali, Vigilio Fontanari, Werner Schmoelz, Sunil K. Agrawal
Summary: Back support exoskeletons are being developed to support the spine and distribute the spine load, aiming to reduce lower back pain and musculoskeletal injuries for workers engaged in physical workload and manual material handling tasks. However, various technical challenges and a lack of established safety standards limit the widespread adoption of exoskeletons in industry.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Ava Chen, Lauren Winterbottom, Sangwoo Park, Jingxi Xu, Dawn M. Nilsen, Joel Stein, Matei Ciocarlie
Summary: This study proposes a dual-cable method to stabilize the thumb for individuals with upper extremity hemiparesis after stroke. The method enhances thumb flexibility and improves grasp stability, showing promising results in object manipulation tasks.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Maxwell Kennard, Hideki Kadone, Yukiyo Shimizu, Kenji Suzuki
Summary: This paper introduces a passive exoskeleton device aimed at supporting individuals with cerebral palsy who experience crouch gait. The device successfully reduced hip joint angle and muscle co-activation index for a pilot user, indicating its potential in addressing crouch gait symptoms. Further improvements in activation timing and device training are necessary for better user support.
Article
Robotics
Mihai Dragusanu, Muhammad Zubair Iqbal, Tommaso Lisini Baldi, Domenico Prattichizzo, Monica Malvezzi
Summary: Robotic devices for rehabilitation and training have a potentially huge social impact by increasing efficiency, providing supplementary information, reducing physiotherapists' efforts, and encouraging autonomy in disabled individuals. This article introduces a wearable and easy-to-control hand/wrist exoskeleton that can be used collaboratively or autonomously, with a focus on user-centered design.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Elena Bardi, Marta Gandolla, Francesco Braghin, Ferruccio Resta, Alessandra L. G. Pedrocchi, Emilia Ambrosini
Summary: Soft robotic wearable devices, known as exosuits, have great potential for daily upper limb support as an alternative to rigid exoskeletons. This review explores the current approaches in design and production steps, focusing on different actuation types and intention detection strategies to support key joints such as elbow and shoulder.
JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Brandon Peterson, Mark Daniel, Vishnu Subra Mani, Brooke Arnold, Travis Craig, Jeremy Gines, Carlos Gonzalez, William Howell, Brandon Shrewsbury, Matthew Bellman, Peter Neuhaus, Robert Griffin
Summary: Exoskeleton technology has significantly improved since the first Cybathlon, making tasks like rough terrain, stairs, and ramps less challenging. This progress has pushed exoskeleton devices towards greater suitability for everyday personal use.
JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Bernardo Noronha, Dino Accoto
Summary: This review proposes a set of classification criteria for hand exoskeleton devices and analyzes the current design choices and trends. Most hand exoskeleton technology devices are still in the experimental or clinical trial phase, with very few devices already on the market.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL ROBOTICS AND BIONICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Jesus de Miguel Fernandez, Marta Rey-Prieto, Miguel Salazar-Del Rio, Helena Lopez-Matas, Lluis Guirao-Cano, Josep M. M. Font-Llagunes, Joan Lobo-Prat
Summary: This study investigated how stroke individuals responded to training with a knee exoskeleton (ABLE-KS) using assistance and resistance modes and auditory feedback. The results showed significant improvements in peak knee flexion, minimum knee angle during stance, paretic single support time, and gait endurance after the two weeks of training.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Robotics
Xiaowei Tan, Bi Zhang, Guangjun Liu, Xingang Zhao, Yiwen Zhao
Summary: This article introduces a time-independent exoskeleton control system that enables users to retain full control over the assistance provided by the exoskeleton. The control system utilizes a novel assistance profile generation method and an iterative force control method to continuously adjust the assistance based on the user's movement. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control system compared to a common time-dependent control system.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS
(2023)
Article
Robotics
Hee Doo Yang, Myles Cooper, Asa Eckert-Erdheim, Dorothy Orzel, Conor J. Walsh
Summary: This study presents a wearable soft robotic exosuit that applies a hip abduction torque to reduce knee adduction moment. The experiment found that the exosuit has the ability to consistently reduce knee adduction moment during walking, potentially providing benefits.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Alberto Topini, William Sansom, Nicola Secciani, Lorenzo Bartalucci, Alessandro Ridolfi, Benedetto Allotta
Summary: Robot-based rehabilitation has been proven to be a viable and efficient practice to accelerate and enhance the recovery of lost functions. Collaborating with a user-friendly robotic environment encourages patients to undergo therapy and increases their involvement in the process. Hand exoskeletons, when paired with virtual reality, can boost therapy outcomes and increase patient participation. Virtual environments simulate real-life tasks and provide challenging exercises with a reward-based system, while also allowing for easy customization to meet the patient's needs.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROROBOTICS
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Roberto Leo Medrano, Gray Cortright Thomas, Elliott J. Rouse, Robert D. Gregg
Summary: This study investigates the feasibility of using Bayesian state estimation to detect and adapt to changing walking conditions in exoskeletons. Through theoretical simulations, the study evaluates different Bayesian filter assumptions and sensor configurations and concludes that the assumptions of the Extended Kalman Filter are well suited for accurately estimating gait parameters in exoskeletons.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Liang Ma, Yuquan Leng, Wei Jiang, Yuepeng Qian, Chenglong Fu
Summary: This study introduces an underactuated soft exoskeleton that can provide sequential assistance to the knee and ankle using only one motor. The experimental results show that the exoskeleton significantly reduces the load on the lower-limb joints and improves the effectiveness of motion.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Christopher Nesler, Gray Thomas, Nikhil Divekar, Elliott J. Rouse, Robert D. Gregg
Summary: This article introduces a modular lower-limb exoskeleton, M-BLUE, which can reduce muscle fatigue, improve lifting posture, and benefit individuals with mobility disabilities. It has the potential for significant applications in a heterogeneous population.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Emir Mobedi, Sebastian Hjorth, Wansoo Kim, Elena De Momi, Nikos G. Tsagarakis, Arash Ajoudani
Summary: This work proposes a reactive control strategy for loading and sudden unloading of an elbow effort-compensation device. It enables the detection and adaptive compensation of external loads, in addition to the individual's forearm weight, allowing arbitrary movements by the wearer. A power-aware strategy is implemented to eliminate external loading in the force reference upon sudden contact/load loss. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed load-releasing method on both bench-top setups and human subjects.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
Stefano L. Capitani, Matteo Bianchi, Nicola Secciani, Marco Pagliai, Enrico Meli, Alessandro Ridolfi
Summary: Despite the current industrial trend towards automation, many workers in the construction industry are still exposed to heavy loads, requiring the design of a passive robotic human assistance tool to improve job quality.
Article
Engineering, Ocean
Alessandro Bucci, Leonardo Zacchini, Matteo Franchi, Alessandro Ridolfi, Benedetto Allotta
Summary: This study aims to develop and evaluate a navigation strategy for AUVs based on optical payloads, using cameras for navigation in particular working conditions where other sensors may not be effective. The research focuses on key steps such as feature detection and outliers removal algorithms, and addresses challenging conditions of underwater environments for a feature-based navigation system.
APPLIED OCEAN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Leonardo Zacchini, Matteo Franchi, Alessandro Ridolfi
Summary: Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are used for scientific research, facing challenges in survey design due to unpredictable environmental conditions and sensor acquisitions. This paper presents a probabilistic framework to enable AUVs to autonomously conduct underwater surveys and ensure adequate coverage of target areas.
JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Alberto Topini, William Sansom, Nicola Secciani, Lorenzo Bartalucci, Alessandro Ridolfi, Benedetto Allotta
Summary: Robot-based rehabilitation has been proven to be a viable and efficient practice to accelerate and enhance the recovery of lost functions. Collaborating with a user-friendly robotic environment encourages patients to undergo therapy and increases their involvement in the process. Hand exoskeletons, when paired with virtual reality, can boost therapy outcomes and increase patient participation. Virtual environments simulate real-life tasks and provide challenging exercises with a reward-based system, while also allowing for easy customization to meet the patient's needs.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROROBOTICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Alessandro Bucci, Matteo Franchi, Alessandro Ridolfi, Nicola Secciani, Benedetto Allotta
Summary: Ensuring accurate navigation for an AUV is crucial for its surveillance, monitoring, and inspection missions. Most navigation filters for AUVs are based on Bayesian estimators and use instruments like Doppler velocity log. The use of payload sensors, such as cameras or forward-looking SONARs, has emerged as an interesting research field to reduce localization error drift. Two different frameworks, a centralized iterative UKF-based approach and a sensor fusion framework with parallel local UKFs, were implemented and compared.
IEEE JOURNAL OF OCEANIC ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Leonardo Zacchini, Alberto Topini, Matteo Franchi, Nicola Secciani, Vincenzo Manzari, Lorenzo Bazzarello, Mirko Stifani, Alessandro Ridolfi
Summary: This article reports the development of an automatic target recognition (ATR) methodology to identify and localize objects of potential interest (OPIs) in forward-looking sonar (FLS) imagery. The study focuses on seabed inspection using acoustic sensors and successfully validates the ATR strategy with collected data.
IEEE JOURNAL OF OCEANIC ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Lorenzo Bartalucci, Nicola Secciani, Chiara Brogi, Alberto Topini, Andrea Della Valle, Alessandro Ridolfi, Benedetto Allotta
Summary: This study presents a modular mechatronic hand exoskeleton system designed to enhance the immersivity of virtual reality. The prototype is equipped with force and pose sensors and operated by a Bowden-cable-based remote actuation system. A procedure for reconstructing HMI force based on measured force and position signals using a kinematic and dynamic model is proposed and tested, showing a percentage error below 15% in tracing forces to the end-effector.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Edoardo Topini, Francesco Fanelli, Alberto Topini, Miles Pebody, Alessandro Ridolfi, Alexander B. Phillips, Benedetto Allotta
Summary: Accurate and robust navigation and localisation systems are crucial for AUVs to perform missions in challenging environments where GPS is not available underwater. To address the limitations of DVL and DVL-denied environments, a DL-based approach has been developed to estimate the vehicle's body-frame velocity in a DR navigation strategy. This work describes the framework, from data gathering to data pre-processing and velocity prediction, and presents a comprehensive offline comparison between different DL-based models to assess the proposed approach's validity.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Leonardo Zacchini, Alessandro Ridolfi, Benedetto Allotta
Summary: Mobile robots are important tools for gathering knowledge of the environment and monitoring areas of interest and industrial assets. Informative Path Planning methodologies have been successfully applied in autonomous information acquisition and exploration. However, the effectiveness of these methodologies decreases as the exploration/gathering progresses. This paper introduces an innovative informed expansion methodology that combines Kernel Density Estimation and rejection sampling to improve the performance of the algorithm.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Mirco Vangi, Chiara Brogi, Alberto Topini, Nicola Secciani, Alessandro Ridolfi
Summary: In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people with disabilities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. At the same time, there have been advancements in robotics in the medical field, leading to the development of low-cost wearable solutions. The Mechatronics and Dynamic Modelling Lab at the University of Florence has created a new version of a wearable hand exoskeleton for assistive purposes. The lab has also developed a regression method to predict finger angle position using sEMG data and previous finger position.
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Matteo Bianchi, Alessandro Ridolfi, Nicola Secciani, Michaela Servi, Yary Volpe
Summary: This study focuses on the development of a low-cost hand scanner for acquiring anthropometric measures, which are then used to tailor the dimensions of a hand exoskeleton utilized for assistive and rehabilitation purposes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERACTIVE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING - IJIDEM
(2021)
