When humans and robots work together to improve life

Researchers and teachers UCBM traveling to Lisbon for the 26th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN2017)

September 1, 2017 - Collaboration between humans and robots and personal assistance for a better quality of life. The IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, in collaboration with the Japanese (RSJ) and Korean (KROS) robotics scientific societies, has just dedicated the "26th IEEE International Symposium on Robots and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN2017)", a congress that was held in Lisbon from 28 August to 1 September and also involved a dozen doctoral students, researchers and teachers UCBM.

In particular, primary role within the organizing committee for prof. Eugenio Guglielmelli, Vice Rector for Research UCBM, Program Chair of the conference. The conference was also organized by Eng. Domenico Formica of the NEXT Research Unit, in the role of Junior Program Chair, Prof Loredana Zollo of the Biomedical Robotics and Biomicrosystems Research Unit, in the role of Editor, and the eng. Antonella Benvenuto, responsible of Grant office UCBM, in the role of Conference Program Manager. The two doctoral students Clemente Lauretti (Biomedical Robotics and Biomicrosystems Unit) e Alessia Noccaro (NEXT Unit) instead presented two branded research UCBM carried out respectively within the thesis of Master's Degree in Biomedical Engineering by the student Giulia Pinzari, in collaboration with the INAIL Prosthesis Center, and within the first year of activity of PhD in Bioengineering.

The professor. Eugenio Guglielmelli he also organized and moderated the round table conclusive on the subject "New challenges for human-robot Interaction, communication and co-operation in the Industry 4.0 and beyond", which was attended by some internationally recognized experts both in the academic and industrial fields as speakers. In particular the Hon. professor Maria Chiara Carrozza, director of the Neurorobotics Area at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa; Professor Reid Simmons, director of the National Robotics Initiative 2.0 program of the National Science Foundation; Professor Dong-Soo Kwon, director of the Human-Robot Interaction Research Center at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea); Dr. Dominik Boesl, vice president of KUKA, a manufacturer of automation and robotics systems; and Dr. Yukihisa Yonemochi, director of the Project Management Office at the Honda Research Institute.

As regards the two works presented, the study by Alessia Noccaro it is related to a teleoperated control of the anthropomorphic robot, which can perform the same human movement. "Scholars - explains - they placed sensors on the human arm to record its movement and reproduce it in real-time on the robot in terms of hand position and orientation. They implemented several algorithms to make the robot's movement anthropomorphic and tested them to understand from the user's point of view which one is the best for controlling the arm and achieving the set goal. The experimentation was carried out on four people and will be enlarged in order to use the study also for rehabilitation purposes as well as to simplify the remote control of the robotic arm".

Objective of the work of Clemente Lauretti instead, it was the development of a vibrotactile stimulation system for the restitution of sensory feedback in lower limb amputees. The system, created in collaboration with the INAIL Prosthetic Center, uses two force sensors placed on the sole of the prosthesis (Force Sensitive Resistors) to estimate the position of the center of pressure and two accelerometers placed on the leg and thigh of the prosthesis to measure the knee angle. "Information about the center of pressure and knee angle - explains Lauretti - it is supplied to the amputee through two or three vibrotactile actuators placed on the forearm or lower back of the same at a certain distance from each other, using a stimulation technique called Funneling illusion. This technique gives the amputee the sensation of perceiving a stimulation point that moves between the two vibrotactile actuators, depending on their vibration intensity. In other words, if the two actuators vibrate with the same intensity, the stimulation point is perceived in the center of the segment which connects the two actuators. If the latter vibrate at different intensities, the point is instead perceived closer to the actuator which vibrates with a greater intensity". Using this stimulation technique to provide the amputee with information about the location of his center of pressure and knee angle while walking can improve his postural control and prevent falls.