A wheelchair operation with an exoskeletal robot using user's residual function

Many people of all ages sustain cervical cord injuries in traffic or sport accidents, and consequently suffer physical impairment. It is difficult to perform many motions in daily life, such as independently operating a wheelchair or pushing open doors. In this study, we focused developing a device to use users' residual function. The lock/unlock mechanism on the elbow joint is effectively used to transmit the user's residual function around the shoulder to the hand. An experiment with a test subject indicated that the developed device is also suitable for wheelchair operation.