Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T02:28:41.704Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A Virtual Headstick for People with Spinal Cord Injuries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1998

Shoupu Chen
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Science and Engineering, University of Delaware/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE 19899, USA
Tariq Rahman
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Science and Engineering, University of Delaware/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE 19899, USA
Richard Foulds
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Science and Engineering, University of Delaware/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE 19899, USA
Edwin Heredia
Affiliation:
Thomson Consumer Electronics, Corporate Innovation and Research, Indianapolis, IN 46206, USA
William Harwin
Affiliation:
Department of Cybernetics, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AY, UK

Abstract

This paper presents a virtual headstick system as an alternative to the conventional passive headstick for persons with limited upper extremity function. The system is composed of a pair of kinematically dissimilar master-slave robots with the master robot being operated by the user's head. At the remote site, the end-effector of the slave robot moves as if it were at the tip of an imaginary headstick attached to the user's head. A unique feature of this system is that through force-reflection, the virtual headstick provides the user with proprioceptive information as in a conventional headstick, but with an augmentation of workspace volume and additional mechanical power. This paper describes the test-bed development, system identification, bilateral control implementation, and system performance evaluation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)