Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

With the fast pace of technological advancements, robotics is becoming ever more integrated with our lives. For many applications, such engagements require direct interaction between users and robots, such as delivering home-based rehabilitation therapy to post-stroke survivors using portable robotic systems. In such systems, interaction stability guaranteeing users safety while achieving high performance is of paramount importance. This proposal requests funds to purchase a robotic facility that will significantly accelerate the development of novel control technologies to implement safe high-fidelity human-robot interaction with the target application of post-stroke rehabilitation. The requested facility is composed of two Quanser Rehab Robots, and their supporting electronics, computing platforms and software. These two degrees-of-freedom (2-DOF) robots are light weight, portable, and easy to utilize. Compared to other commercial robotic systems, the requested equipment is cost effective and easily expandable for added sensory systems, and it seamlessly integrates with technical computing software. Such portable robotic facility with open architecture control does not exist at Queen's University. The facility can be configured for research on three rehabilitation applications - two unimanual standalone systems, one bimanual system, and one unimanual telerehabilitation system. The equipment is urgently needed as our solutions for estimating and utilizing the users' biomechanics measure in novel controllers for guaranteed interaction safety, and our projection-based methods to preserve therapist intent for optimum therapeutic performance require multi-directional motion and force capabilities which our current 1-DOF setup can not deliver. The requested equipment will be widely accessible to researchers at Queen's University. It will also promote collaborative research in human-centered robotics and data sharing with colleagues in other institutions that have similar equipment. We expect over 15 HQP will be trained with the equipment over the next 5 years. The HQP will acquire technical skills in human-robot interaction, sensory and real-time systems, virtual environments, biomechanics, post-stroke rehabilitation, and experiment design. These skill sets are easily transferable to the marketplace, including the healthcare and manufacturing sectors in Canada. To recruit HQP, we will actively seek candidates from equity deserving groups for a diverse research team. We will provide equal opportunity to the HQP to receive training and access to the equipment. By funding the acquisition of the rehab robotic facility, we can advance the development of safe robotic rehabilitation technologies. This will grant post-stroke survivors continuous 24/7 access to therapy in the comfort of their homes, cater to the increasing need for extended services, and conserve therapists' time.