Artificial Autonomics & Robotic Interface, For Paralysis Victims;    built in 1998, in 2 weeks, with only a budget of $275.

 This  prototype was chosen to be demonstrated before the

"International Conference On Rehabilitation Robotics"

"(ICORR)" at Stanford University, in

California, on July 1999. 

Feature Controlled  Wheelchair

    This experiment uses only three facial movements to utilizes fourteen functions that control a five range of motion robotic arm and a mobile wheelchair base, while relating it’s status through a visual indicator console. This design is easy to control and allows multitasking. It maneuvers around a room in any direction, can pick up and move objects, and allow the user to print or draw on a vertical surface with primitive strokes. The robotic chair was created on a budget of $275.00.  My limited budget forced me to try to condense it’s circuits and power distribution by designing an unusual circuit which takes simple signals from sensors on a patient’s face and integrates them through a matrix of wires, relays and electronics which  relate Boolean logic and power distribution in both directions and on one set of common paths.
 

 Next Phase Wheelchair

      The exoskeleton design  redefines the concept of earlier  experiments by reconfiguring the unit to appear to fit like armor without the drive components being directly visible. As illustrated this design would reduce the bulky look associated with such concepts . Each range of motion would have both mechanical and electronic limits to insure that hazardous over travel in a given range of motion does not occur. The design would  embody the concept of an  artificial motor control and instinctive reactionary  system, that links to a patient’s features.
 

Artificial Touch

    Additional information will post shortly. Preliminary experiment was successful.
 
Modes

      In each design the challenge in  configuration is the inability of a patient to easily convey enough motion request data to the artificial system for fluid movement and quick action. To accommodate this problem, modes of operation can be  designed  to take care of  known factors of movement relating to the surrounding environment. A mode can for example be balancing a glass of water, performing an emergency action to avoid tipping, calling for help if the patients vital signs are  questionable, calculating climbing angles for rough terrain, navigating towards an object, shaking hands, etc.

Safety

     I distribute functional limitations across a  robotic device to increase the chances of safe operation. For instance limits and simple logic circuits relate positions of arms and will not let them travel beyond a safe point regardless of what the main circuit board tells it to do. I believe that robots would ideally have their “Electronic Brain” spread out across the entire robots body, freeing the main boards to imply actions rather than being the total governing discipline.