Smart speakers and skill use: what do we know?

Personal smart technologies are becoming increasingly interwoven into everyday life, yet the usability and usefulness for some of these off-the-shelf technologies for persons with disabilities has yet to be determined. Smart speakers with both their native and downloadable functionalities (skills) have great potential to support individuals with disabilities through communication functionalities, smart home integrations, and more. However, the potential for usefulness does not always translate to how something is actually perceived or used in the real-world.

TransKinect: a computer vision and machine learning clinical decision support system for automatic independent wheelchair transfer technique assessment.

Background: Physical and occupational therapists provide routine care for manual wheelchair users and are responsible for training and assessing the quality of transfers. These transfers can produce large loads on the upper extremity joints if improper sitting-pivot-technique is used. Methods to assess quality of transfers include the Transfer Assessment Instrument, a clinically validated tool derived from quantitative biomechanical features; however, adoption of this tool is low due to the complex usage requirements and speed of typical transfers.

Anthropomorphic model rigid loading indenter with embedded sensor development for wheelchair cushion standard testing.

Develop an anthropomorphic model cushion rigid loading indenter with embedded sensors (AMCRLI-ES) to assess compression and shear forces at key locations such as trochanters and ischial tuberosities. The sensor design was optimized using finite element analysis. The AMCRLI-ES was designed with the same dimensions as specified in ISO 16840-2 tests.

Participatory action design and engineering of a manual wheelchair virtual coach including in-home and community usage.

Background: Current clinical practice guidelines (CPG) recommend periodic pressure redistribution (PR) to alter sitting pressure and reduce the risk of developing pressure injuries (PI). Individuals who have strength and trunk stability are asked to perform PR such as wheelies, leaning laterally, and forward-leaning to minimize the duration of pressure acting on the same region of the body.

Objective: Our long-term objective is to build upon previous research and development to create a more effective device for improving PR training and adherence to CPG among manual wheelchair users (MWU).

Reliability of 3D Depth Motion Sensors for Capturing Upper Body Motions and Assessing the Quality of Wheelchair Transfers.

Wheelchair users must use proper technique when performing sitting-pivot-transfers (SPTs) to prevent upper extremity pain and discomfort. Current methods to analyze the quality of SPTs include the TransKinect, a combination of machine learning (ML) models, and the Transfer Assessment Instrument (TAI), to automatically score the quality of a transfer using Microsoft Kinect V2. With the discontinuation of the V2, there is a necessity to determine the compatibility of other commercial sensors.

Development of a Vision-Guided Shared-Control System for Assistive Robotic Manipulators.

Assistive robotic manipulators (ARMs) provide a potential solution to mitigating the difficulties and lost independence associated with manipulation deficits in individuals with upper-limb impairments. However, achieving efficient control of an ARM can be a challenge due to the multiple degrees of freedom (DoFs) of an ARM that need to be controlled. This study describes the development of a vision-guided shared-control (VGS) system and how it is applied to a multi-step drinking task.

Automating the Clinical Assessment of Independent Wheelchair Sitting Pivot Transfer Techniques.

Background: Using proper transfer technique can help to reduce forces and prevent secondary injuries. However, current assessment tools rely on the ability to subjectively identify harmful movement patterns.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine the accuracy of using a low-cost markerless motion capture camera and machine learning methods to evaluate the quality of independent wheelchair sitting pivot transfers.

Classification of wheelchair pressure relief maneuvers using changes in center of pressure and weight on the seat.

Background: Pressure injuries from prolonged sitting are a significant problem for wheelchair users incurring high costs in healthcare expenditures and reducing quality-of-life. There is a need to improve pressure relief training and adherence in a variety of settings.

Objective: To identify effective common wheelchair pressure relief (PR) manoeuvres based on changes to users' seated centre of pressure (CoP) and seated weight.

Usability evaluation of attitude control for a robotic wheelchair for tip mitigation in outdoor environments.

Tips and falls are the most prominent causes of wheelchair accidents that occur when driving on uneven terrains and less accessible environments. The Mobility Enhancement Robotic Wheelchair (MEBot) was designed to improve the stability of Electric Powered Wheelchairs (EPW) when driving over these environments. MEBot offers six independently height-adjustable wheels to control attitude of its seat over uneven and angled terrains.

Design and operation verification of an automated pressure mapping and modulating seat cushion for pressure ulcer prevention.

A sensorized air cell-based seat cushion system was developed to address the issues of loading magnitude and duration at a sitting interface to aid in reducing risk of sitting acquired pressure ulcers. This system is capable of pressure mapping, redistribution, and offloading which were verified using an anthropomorphic model and a human subject. The system is comprised of an air cell array cushion, a pneumatic control unit, and a graphical user interface.

Usability Evaluation of a Novel Robotic Power Wheelchair for Indoor and Outdoor Navigation.

Objective: To compare the Mobility Enhancement roBotic (MEBot) wheelchair's capabilities with commercial electric-powered wheelchairs (EPWs) by performing a systematic usability evaluation.

Design: Usability in effectiveness, efficacy, and satisfaction was evaluated using quantitative measures. A semistructured interview was employed to gather feedback about the users' interaction with MEBot.

Performance Evaluation of a Mobile Touchscreen Interface for Assistive Robotic Manipulators: A Pilot Study.

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 was developed to overcome these challenges.

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, a user starts operating with a manual control method available to him/her.

Task-Oriented Performance Evaluation for Assistive Robotic Manipulators: A Pilot Study.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of commercially available assistive robotic manipulators (ARMs) user interfaces and to investigate the concurrent validity and sensitivity to change with task-oriented performance evaluation tools (TO-PETs) for ARMs.

Design: This was a nonblinded randomized controlled study with power-wheelchair users with upper-extremity impairments (N = 10). Participants were trained to use 2 ARMs with their respective original user interfaces (keypad and joystick) and evaluated the performance using TO-PET and the adapted Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT-ARM).

Design and evaluation of a seat orientation controller during uneven terrain driving.

Electric powered wheelchairs (EPWs) are essential devices for people with disabilities as aids for mobility and quality of life improvement. However, the design of currently available common EPWs is still limited and makes it challenging for the users to drive in both indoor and outdoor environments such as uneven surfaces, steep hills, or cross slopes, making EPWs susceptible to loss of stability and at risk for falls. An alternative wheel-legged robotic wheelchair, "MEBot", was designed to improve the safety and mobility of EPW users in both indoor and outdoor environments.

Stability analysis of electrical powered wheelchair-mounted robotic-assisted transfer device.

The ability of people with disabilities to live in their homes and communities with maximal independence often hinges, at least in part, on their ability to transfer or be transferred by an assistant. Because of limited resources and the expense of personal care, robotic transfer assistance devices will likely be in great demand. An easy-to-use system for assisting with transfers, attachable to electrical powered wheelchairs (EPWs) and readily transportable, could have a significant positive effect on the quality of life of people with disabilities.

Autonomous function of wheelchair-mounted robotic manipulators to perform daily activities.

Autonomous functions for wheelchair-mounted robotic manipulators (WMRMs) allow a user to focus more on the outcome from the task - for example, eating or drinking, instead of moving robot joints through user interfaces. In this paper, we introduce a novel personal assistive robotic system based on a position-based visual servoing (PBVS) approach. The system was evaluated with a complete drinking task, which included recognizing the location of the drink, picking up the drink from a start location, conveying the drink to the proximity of the user's mouth without spilling, and placing the drink back on the table.

Development of an advanced mobile base for personal mobility and manipulation appliance generation II robotic wheelchair.

Background: This paper describes the development of a mobile base for the Personal Mobility and Manipulation Appliance Generation II (PerMMA Gen II robotic wheelchair), an obstacle-climbing wheelchair able to move in structured and unstructured environments, and to climb over curbs as high as 8 inches. The mechanical, electrical, and software systems of the mobile base are presented in detail, and similar devices such as the iBOT mobility system, TopChair, and 6X6 Explorer are described.

Findings: The mobile base of PerMMA Gen II has two operating modes: "advanced driving mode" on flat and uneven terrain, and "automatic climbing mode" during stair climbing.

Functional assessment and performance evaluation for assistive robotic manipulators: Literature review.

Context: The user interface development of assistive robotic manipulators can be traced back to the 1960s. Studies include kinematic designs, cost-efficiency, user experience involvements, and performance evaluation. This paper is to review studies conducted with clinical trials using activities of daily living (ADLs) tasks to evaluate performance categorized using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) frameworks, in order to give the scope of current research and provide suggestions for future studies.