Some aspects of human-friendly control for movement-helping devices

Abstract

Future welfare models should meet the needs of a large group of aged and disabled people. Present research and technology efforts in this direction are oriented toward the development of highly effective home-installed devices which will provide the user with continuous assistance in different everyday activities. The problems and needs of the elderly and the disabled vary from person to person over a large range, and with many serious requirements. Modern designs for such devices are oriented toward solutions where the user is less engaged in the control process, and the interaction between the device and the user ishuman-friendly, i.e., the devices should possess a high level of intelligence in their controls, actions, and interactions with the user, offering him/her a high level of comfort and functionality. This paper considers a mixed control mode as a better alternative for human-machine interactions for users with great movement disability. Some examples of easy direct control are discussed.