An Experimental Setup to Evaluate Sensory Substitution Methods for Upper Limb Robotic Prostheses

Sensory substitution is an easy, cost effective and mostly-preferred method to provide artificial sensory feedback to users of robotic prostheses. This sensory feedback, such as artificial proprioception, is provided through different sensory modalities, such as vibration, at different locations on the body. In this study, we propose a new methodology and an experimental setup, which are to be used to determine contribution of artificial proprioception feedback on coordinated manipulations. The setup consists of a novel haptic interface, an input device, a force sensor, and a virtual environment. Experiments were performed to technically evaluate the developed haptic interface. To further validate the interface, we conducted a psychophysical test in which subjects compared real and virtual springs with different stiffness constants. Results showed that the setup was able to successfully render the intended springs. The experimental methodology is based on the Strength-Dexterity test, which works on the principle of buckling of compression springs. Since this unstable task highly depends on coordination of force and position, its virtual implementation provides a novel platform to test sensory substitution techniques.

Üst Ekstremite Robot Protezleri için Duyusal İkame Yöntemlerinin Değerlendirilmesi Amaçlı Bir Deney Düzeneği

Duyusal ikame, robotik protez kullanıcılarına yapay duyu geribildirimi sağlamak için kullanılan kolay, uygun maliyetli ve çoğunlukla tercih edilen bir yöntemdir. Böyle bir duyusal geribildirim, mesela yapay propriosepsiyon, titreşim gibi farklı bir duyusal kiple vücudun farklı yerlerinde sağlanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, yapay propriyosepsiyon geribildiriminin koordineli manipülasyonlar üzerindeki katkısını belirlemek için kullanılabilecek yeni bir yöntem ve deney düzeneği önerilmektedir. Düzenek yeni bir haptik arayüz, bir girdi cihazı, bir kuvvet algılayıcısı ve bir sanal ortamdan oluşmaktadır. Geliştirilen haptik arayüzü, deneylerle teknik olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Ayrıca, deneklerin gerçek ve sanal yayları karşılaştırdığı bir psikofizik test de yapılmıştır. Sonuçlar, deney düzeneğinin amaçlanan yayları başarılı bir şekilde sunabildiğini göstermiştir. Önerilen deneysel yöntem, yayların bükülme prensibiyle çalışan Dirençlilik-Maharet testine dayanmaktadır. Bu kararsız görev büyük ölçüde kuvvet ve konum koordinasyonuna bağlı olduğu için, bu çalışmada önerilen sanal uygulama tabanlı deneysel metod, duyusal ikame yöntemlerini test etmek için yenilikçi bir ortam sağlamaktadır.

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