Dubbed Elderly Bodily Assistance Robot (E-BAR), the robot acts as a set of robotic handlebars that follows a person from behind. A user can walk independently or lean on the robot’s arms for support. In addition, the team said the robot can support a person’s full weight, lifting them from sitting to standing and vice versa along a natural trajectory.
With E-BAR, the researchers hope to prevent falls, which in the US are the leading cause of injury in adults who are 65 and older.
In a statement, Harry Asada, the Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT, said: “Many older adults underestimate the risk of fall and refuse to use physical aids, which are cumbersome, while others overestimate the risk and may not want to exercise, leading to declining mobility.
“Our design concept is to provide older adults having balance impairment with robotic handlebars for stabilising their body. The handlebars go anywhere and provide support anytime, whenever they need.”
The robot is currently operated via remote control but future iterations will automate much of the machine’s functionality, enabling it to autonomously follow and physically assist a user. The researchers are also working on streamlining the device to make it more manoeuvrable.
“I think eldercare is the next great challenge,” said E-BAR designer Roberto Bolli, a graduate student in the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering. “All the demographic trends point to a shortage of caregivers, a surplus of elderly persons, and a strong desire for elderly persons to age in place. We see it as an unexplored frontier in America, but also an intrinsically interesting challenge for robotics.”
Home help
Based on interviews with older adults and their carers, the team came up with several design requirements, including that the robot must fit through home doors, allow the user to take a full stride, and support their full weight to help with balance, posture, and transitions from sitting to standing.
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The robot has a 220-pound base whose dimensions and structure were optimised to support the weight of an average human without tipping or slipping. Underneath the base is a set of omnidirectional wheels that allows the robot to move in any direction without pivoting.
Extending out from the robot’s base is an articulated body made from 18 linkages that can reconfigure to lift a person from a sitting to standing position, and vice versa. Two arms with handlebars stretch out from the robot in a U-shape, which a person can stand between and lean against for additional support. Finally, each arm of the robot is embedded with airbags that can inflate instantly to catch a person if they fall.
Bolli envisions a design like E-BAR would be ideal for use in the home by elderly people who still have a moderate degree of muscle strength but require assistive devices for activities of daily living.
Bolli and Asada will present apaperdetailing the design of E-BAR at the IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), which takes place in Atlanta between May 19-23.
