Latest Blog Posts
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Social Alarm: Personal Social Network-Empowered Shared Alarm Clock Method to Effectively Overcome Sleep Inertia
The purpose of this study is to design and validate a new alarm clock method called ‘Social Alarm’. It promotes better wake-up experience, which extends the traditional passive self-struggling wake-up experience into a mutually beneficial activity by sharing an alarm clock with friends who are willing to go together. The…
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AI-Empowered Automatic Evaluation of Sitting-Pivot-Transfer Performance Based on 3D Body Motion Tracking and Ambient Object Recognition Using a Time-Of-Flight Sensor
Research Objectives: To develop an AI-empowered technology that automatically evaluates sitting-pivot-transfer performance based on body motion tracking and ambient object recognition with a low-cost time-of-flight sensor.Design: The Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) approach with the data collected from multi-site clinical trials was adopted.Setting: The multi-site clinical trials…
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Add-on Units to Improve Power Wheelchair Driving Accessibility and Safety for People with Vision and Mobility Issues
The purpose of this research is to design and develop powered wheelchair add-on units that provide a long-cane-based one-hand wireless wheelchair control with a driving safety assurance called ‘in-air bumper’ for people with vision and mobility issues. The focus group meeting conducted with four participants (two potential end-users and two…
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Protocol-Independent Integrated Assistive Smart-Home Technology for People with Cognitive Disabilities
Objective: To develop a protocol-independent integrated assistive smart-home technology to enhance the ability of people with cognitive impairments to live more safely and independently in their homes, leveraging the existing connected-home products and implementing intellignet context-aware ADL inference engine for home safety and independent living.Design: Participatory Action Design collaborating with…
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Performance evaluation of 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control method for assistive robotic manipulator
We developed a 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control interface for assistive robotic manipulators. It was implemented based on one of the most popular commercially available assistive robotic manipulator combined with a low-cost depth-sensing camera mounted on the robot base. To perform a manipulation task with the 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control interface,…
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Real Time Transfer Technique Assessment Using the Kinect 2 Sensor
Approximately 3.3 million Americans over the age of 15 use wheelchairs daily (Census, 2010). Wheelchair users rely heavily on their upper extremities to complete common but essential activities of daily living such as getting in and out of bed, transferring to a toilet or a shower, and transferring in and…
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Robotic Manipulation Characteristics of Persons with Physical Disabilities
Research Objectives: This study has aimed to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of robotic manipulation performed by persons with physical disabilities.Design: Case-control study.Setting: Laboratory-based evaluation with a series of robotic manipulation tasks using a standardized ARM evaluation tool (ARMET). The ARMET is a task board which includes three…
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Circling motion and screen edges as an alternative input method for on-screen target manipulation
Purpose: To investigate a new alternative interaction method, called circling interface, for manipulating on-screen objects. To specify a target, the user makes a circling motion around the target. To specify a desired pointing command with the circling interface, each edge of the screen is used. The user selects a command…
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Performance Evaluation of a Mobile Touchscreen Interface for Assistive Robotic Manipulators: A Pilot Study
Background: Assistive robotic manipulators (ARMs) have been developed to provide enhanced assistance and independence in performance of daily activities among people with spinal cord injury when a caregiver is not on site. However, the current commercial ARM user interfaces (UIs) may be difficult to learn and control. A touchscreen mobile UI…