Man-machine interface of assist robot for aged person

Two man-machine interfaces of assist robots are proposed in this paper. By using the proposed man-machine interfaces, a person who has some difficulty in moving his/her arm can actuate assist robots with little finger force. Two types of assist robots, three-dimensional manipulators, were fabricated in order to confirm the proposed two man-machine interfaces. The first man-machine interface is composed of three strain gages, and a user of the robot pinches an operation plate to move the robot. Operation place is limited to actuate the robot; however, the robot can be moved smoothly in three-dimensions. The second man-machine interface uses an acceleration pickup. The second method is sensitive to noise. A user of the robot can actuate the robot by pushing or pulling at any point of the robot, operation place is not limited. The characteristics of the two methods are discussed through the experiments using the fabricated assist robots.