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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Rehabilitation Engineering
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fresc.2024.1469491

Design and Control of a Low-cost Non-backdrivable End-effector Upper Limb Rehabilitation Device

Provisionally accepted
Fulan Li Fulan Li Yunfei Guo Yunfei Guo *Wenda Xu Wenda Xu *Weide Zhang Weide Zhang *Fangyun Zhao Fangyun Zhao Baiyu Wang Baiyu Wang *Huaguang Du Huaguang Du *Chengkun Zhang Chengkun Zhang *
  • Futronics NA Cooperation, Pasadena, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper presents GARD, an upper limb end-effector rehabilitation device developed for stroke patients. GARD offers assistance force along or towards a 2D trajectory during physical therapy sessions. GARD employs a non-backdrivable mechanism with novel motor velocity-control-based algorithms, which offers superior control precision and stability. To our knowledge, this innovative technical route has not been previously explored in rehabilitation robotics. In alignment with the new design, GARD features two novel control algorithms: Implicit Euler Velocity Control (IEVC) algorithm and a generalized impedance control algorithm. These algorithms achieve O(n) runtime complexity for any arbitrary trajectory. The system has demonstrated a mean absolute error of 0.023mm in trajectory-following tasks and 0.14mm in trajectory-restricted free moving tasks. The proposed upper limb rehabilitation device offers all the functionalities of existing commercial devices with superior performance. Additionally, GARD provides unique functionalities such as area-restricted free moving and dynamic Motion Restriction Map interaction. This device holds strong potential for widespread clinical use, potentially improving rehabilitation outcomes for stroke patients.

    Keywords: Upper limb rehabilitation, End-effector rehabilitation robot, Assist-as-needed, motion planning, Non-backdrivable

    Received: 23 Jul 2024; Accepted: 06 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Guo, Xu, Zhang, Zhao, Wang, Du and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yunfei Guo, Futronics NA Cooperation, Pasadena, United States
    Wenda Xu, Futronics NA Cooperation, Pasadena, United States
    Weide Zhang, Futronics NA Cooperation, Pasadena, United States
    Baiyu Wang, Futronics NA Cooperation, Pasadena, United States
    Huaguang Du, Futronics NA Cooperation, Pasadena, United States
    Chengkun Zhang, Futronics NA Cooperation, Pasadena, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.