Statement of Objectives:

Robotic exoskeleton systems provide a promising avenue for assisting stroke patients to recover motor function and for easing the burden of labor intensive, highly repetitive, and therefore, costly conventional physical therapy. Design of robotic exoskeletons is challenging due to the limits on size and weight, and the need to address technical challenges in areas ranging from biomechanics, rehabilitation, actuation, sensing, physical human-robot interaction, and control based on the user intent. Since the exoskeletons are meant to be in a close physical contact with the subjects, a synergistic approach that accounts for the coupled human-robot system may be necessary.

Recently novel robotic designs, including exoskeleton designs, have been introduced with compliance at the joints and actuation. The goal of this workshop is to understand the effects of introduction of compliance on the overall performance of the robotic systems, and to explore how compliant actuation and transmission may be advantageous in exoskeleton designed for rehabilitation.

Compliance plays a critical role in the human movements, for example, in walking and object manipulation, so it seems reasonable that exoskeletons with compliance may perform better than rigid exoskeletons. One big advantage of compliance is that it may lead to safer interactions by allowing for the user to push against the robot. Also by introducing appropriate compliance in the exoskeletons, specific impedance may be introduced at the human-robot interaction, which may lead to better controls and more comfort for the user. And compliance can also be utilized as a low-cost for force sensing, especially, in the case of series elastic actuation.

The overall objective of the proposed workshop is to provoke a discussion on why introducing compliance might be beneficial, to gain insights into what we really add and loose, to generalize findings across robotic systems (humanoids, industrial arms, mobile manipulators), and to identify specific effects in case of exoskeletons for rehabilitation (walking, shoulder-arm rehabilitation and wrist-hand rehabilitation).

Intended Audience:

• Researchers interested in the design and control of novel exoskeleton systems
• Researchers interested in the design and development of novel robotic actuators
• Students and researchers interested in learning about the state-of-the-art in rehabilitation robot design

Schedule:

1:45 PM                       Welcome, Introductions (Deshpande, O’Malley)
2:00 PM – 3:40 PM      Invited talks (5 @ 20 min each)
3:40 PM – 4:00 PM      Coffee Break
4:00 PM - 4:40 PM      Short Talks (4 @ 10 min each)
4:40 PM – 6:00 PM      Invited talks (4 @ 20 min each)
6:00 PM – 6:15 PM      Discussion and Closing (Deshpande, O’Malley)

Invited and Short Talks: