Koki Honda and Kazuo Kiguchi, Kyushu University, Japan

To assist not only motor function but also perception ability of elderly and/or handicapped persons, the power-assist robots which have perception-assist function have been developed. These robots can automatically modify the user’s motion when the robot detects inappropriate user’s motion or a possibility of accident such as collision between the user and obstacles. For this motion modification in perception-assist, some actuators of power-assist robot are used. On the other hand, since some elderly persons, handicapped persons or some workers need not use power-assist function but perception-assist function only, another new concept perception-assist method was investigated in our previous study. In this perception-assist method, only vibrators are used for generating motion change with kinesthetic illusion to assist perception-ability only. In this study, since the perception-assist is often used during tasks under a loaded condition, the features of motion change under the loaded condition are investigated.

Vibration Stimulation, Perception-Assist, Motion Change, Elbow Joint Motion