Development of Robot Arm Prosthetic with Feedback Control System

Over the time, bio-medical engineering has evolved through versatile devices and technological revolutions. The need for robotic arm is to help human beings recover their lost physical functions or to improve rehabilitation processes which may be lost through trauma, disease, or a condition present

Project Title

Development of Robot Arm Prosthetic with Feedback Control System

Project Area of Specialization

Robotics

Project Summary

Over the time, bio-medical engineering has evolved through versatile devices and technological revolutions. The need for robotic arm is to help human beings recover their lost physical functions or to improve rehabilitation processes which may be lost through trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). The study, therefore intend to provide a solution by constructing a low-cost robotic prosthesis and its control that is easily accessible commercially and with lower costs.

The objective is that the movement developed by the robotic arm is similar to the movement made by its real equivalent model. The current project involves the control of different movements of the articulated prosthesis. In this case the EMG signals obtained in the forearm are used to determine the movements of the different elements of the bionic prosthesis. The implementation of EMG electromyographic surface sensors allows to develop the control of the robotic arm in a simple and effective way. Also, the EMG sensors serve as a bridge to detect the small electrical pulses produced by muscle activity and transform them into an analog signal that the microprocessor is capable of interpreting.

As a result, the control of a robotic prototype that operates simulating the degrees of freedom (6-DOF) of the human hand will be developed.

Project Objectives

Main objectives of the project are given below; this will help us:

• To design robust feedback control system that detects external disturbance and tackle uncertainties and further correct or removes it.
• To design compact and usable robotic arm.
• To provide a solution by constructing a low-cost robotic prosthesis.
• Easily accessible commercially with lower costs.
• To make movement of robotic arm similar to the movement of real equivalent model.
• To drive a complete low-cost human arm enabling amputees to perform basic functions.

Project Implementation Method

The implementation of the project will be carried out in the following steps:

• First stage is Data collection; Electromyography (EMG) is a physiological signal that is produced due to the electrical activity when muscle contracts. In this project, a robotic arm is controlled using the EMG signals that are acquired from the forearm of the user with the help of surface electrodes attached to the user’s skin, which avoids bulky interface sensors.
• Then comes amplification; The amplifier is the component that receives signals from electrodes then takes the difference between two electrodes and amplify it.
• Filtration; Lots of noise signals will be present in the EMG signal obtained from the electrodes. These filters will help to remove such unwanted noise signals.
• Segmentation (feature extraction & classification):
  This stage converts raw signal obtained from the above steps into feature vector. The feature vector represents relevant structure in the raw data.  It eliminates redundant information in the feature vector, generating reduced feature vector. Classification involves pattern recognition.  Since a classification algorithm is applied to reduced feature vector in order to obtain categories.
• Robust feedback control system will be designed that will detect and also negates the effect of disturbance in any system. This stage translates categories to control commands for execution.
• In Compilation & Hardware, the proposed method will be implemented as a control system to mimic the movements of the human arm.

Benefits of the Project

The lack of access to prosthetics prevents people with limb loss from living productive lives, leads to poor rehabilitation outcomes, and places amputees at risk for dangerous and costly secondary conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and additional amputation. Hence, when an arm or other limb is amputated/lost, a prosthetic device, or prosthesis, can play an important role in rehabilitation. It also provides improvement of mobility, ability to manage daily activities and means to stay independent. Likewise, provide an affordable solution of prosthetic limb for the country and least dependency on imported prosthesis.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

In the project, Robust feedback control system will be designed that detects external disturbance and tackles uncertainties in order to negate the effect of any system disturbance.

Moreover, several technologies and devices will be integrated such as: the manufacture of elements using 3D printing techniques, the development of a system based on the Arduino platform, design of an analog system that incorporates the EMG/ECG sensors and control technique applied to the different actuators (servomotors) that constitute the robotic prototype.
As a result, the control of a robotic prototype that operates simulating the degrees of freedom (6-DOF) of the human hand will be developed.

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Type of Industry

Medical

Technologies

Robotics

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

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