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Robot Arm

Robot Arm

by | Mar 9, 2024 | Robotics

After almost three years of training with the dot and exoskeleton, we started training with a robotic arm in a virtual environment for some time. Then, we transitioned to the real thing I always wanted: a real robot arm. That was the main reason I entered the clinical trial. I did think the speech decoding was very cool, but the robot arm was more appealing to my ears.

I always wished to be able to do my things, feed, drink, and do basic stuff for myself, and so I saw the opportunity with the robot arm coming my way.

It was AMAZING! I started doing basic tasks, reaching out, to see how well my control was, with five, I don’t know how to define it, imaginary /attempted movements, let’s stick with that. I have been saying “imagine” gestures, but I move my nerves behind the scenes.

This is how I control the robot arm:

  • To go to the right side. I attempt to move my right thumb.
  • To go to the left side. I attempt to move my left thumb. 
  • To go backward, I attempt to move my head back and forth.
  • I attempt to squeeze/tighten my left leg muscle to go forward. 
  • To go upwards, I attempt to move my lips
  • To go downwards, I attempt to move my tongue.

    Making the transition means entering into rotation and grasping mode. I have to attempt to move my two middle fingers simultaneously. When the switch happens, you can see the big screen, where a rectangular shape is drawn. It switches from the color red to the color blue, which indicates that the robot can now rotate and grab objects. I use the same gestures in the rotation and grasping mode. The robot arm can be used in two ways: down position and lateral position.

First, let me start going downwards with my arm.

  • To rotate clockwise, I attempt to squeeze/tighten the muscles in my left leg.
  • To rotate counter-clockwise, I attempt to move my head
  • To move forward toward an object while in the switch mode, I attempt to move my tongue
  • To move away from an object while on the switch mode, I attempt to move my lips.
  • I attempt to move my right thumb to close my fingers and grab the object while in the switch state.
  • To open my fingers and release the object, I attempt to move my left thumb while in the switch state.

I use the same steps to take this in a lateral position, although it is a little different. It doesn’t rotate, but it bends. Imagine bending your hand from the elbow. Well, the robot arm does, sort of, like that. It bends like a curve, just like bending your elbow. 

  • To bend it towards me while on the switch state, I attempt to squeeze/tighten my left leg muscles
  • I attempt to move my head to bend it away from me while on the switch state.
  • To go forward toward the object while in the switch state, I attempt to move my tongue.
  • To move away from the object while in the switch state, I attempt to move my lips.
  • I attempt to move my right thumb to close my fingers and grab the object while in the switch state.
  • To open my fingers and release the object, I attempt to move my left thumb while in the switch state. 

Exoskeleton

Exoskeleton

by | Mar 3, 2024 | Robotics

I’ve been a little too busy doing other things, and I haven’t updated my website for several months now; that’s terrible!

I will start by introducing my robotic arm, well, not mine. The thing I work with is in the office with the clinical trial team. It’s pretty incredible! Let me go back to the beginning.

When we first started, it wasn’t anything physical or something that looked even close to a robot arm. It was just a “dot” on the screen, a big monitor with a dot floating around it, that was all!   Well, I only had to control the dot with my imagination. I thought it would be a piece of cake, my goodness! It was hard as heck! It took numerous attempts, but we did it, thank God! I managed to make it work as intended. 

Such a dot represented the cursor of a computer, so I was playing with it, moving it around the screen. I started with four basic, imaginative movements: I moved my head left to make it move to the left, I moved my head to the right to make it move to the right, and I moved my arm up and down to make it move up and down. 

I did not keep any of those videos to show you, sorry! 

After training with the dot control for some time, we moved on to a different project. It was called a planar robotic manipulandum for upper limb assessment and movement assistance. It was a device on a table with a crystal clear plastic base full of cables and electronics. The device connected to my arm at the wrist, and I could move it through a horizontal workspace while measuring the applied forces. They also had an assistive glove called the exoskeleton that assisted with opening and closing my fingers.

I did keep videos of the Planar Table and Exoskeleton. 

Then, we went back to play with cursor control but tried different imaging techniques. I felt a little silly sometimes, but I was trying to do everything I was told. I was trying to move my left thumb to go left, my right thumb to go right, move my head upwards to go upwards, and move my toes downward. As time passed, we learned a lot of new stuff and strategies. 

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