Appendices. Design of a Robotic Personal Assistance Tool for Elderly. Zjenja Doubrovski

Appendices Design of a Robotic Personal Assistance Tool for Elderly

Zjenja Doubrovski Chair of supervisory team

Dr.ir. J.M.P. Geraedts

department/section: Product Engineering

Mentor of supervisory team

Ir. S.G. van de Geer

department/section: Design Aesthetics

Company mentor

Dr. ir. M. Wisse

Company name

Delft Biorobotics Lab

March 2010

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Content Contents Appendix A: Graduation Assignment Appendix B: Exploratory Study Appendix C: Official Assisting Devices Appendix D: Mindmap Elderly At Home Appendix E: Interview Data Contextual Inquiry Appendix F: Scoring Data Contextual Inquiry Appendix G: Interview Setup Appendix H: Diary Data Contextual Inquiry Appendix I: Objects Grasped at Home Appendix J: Grasped Objects & Orentation Appendix K: Existing Reaching Products Appendix L: Patents Appendix M: Results Testing of Reachers Appendix N: Life Cycle Analysis Appendix O: Programme of Requirements Appendix P: Possible Locations of Handle Appendix Q: Creative Session Appendix R: Morphological Chart Appendix S: Analysis of Rows Appendix T: Ideas per Configuration Appendix U: Experienced Weight & Support Appendix V: Results weight testing Appendix W: Damper Calculations Appendix X: Motor Calculations Appendix Y: Wrist Support Variations Appendix Z: Power Use calculations Appendix AA: Costing Estimation Appendix AB: Arduino Program for Prototype

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Appendix A: Graduation Assignment GRADUATION ASSIGNMENT

Title of graduation project Student name Registration number Chair of supervisory team Mentor of supervisory team Company name Country Company mentor Start date End date

As a step towards the development of personal robots, the DBL came up with a patented principle of a mobile manipulator and some general ideas about the setup of the robot. These principles are described below as starting points:

INTRODUCTION

: Design of a Personal Assistant Robot for Elderly : E.L. (Zjenja) Doubrovski : 1185470 : Dr.ir. J.M.P. Geraedts department/section: Product Engineering : Ir. S.G. van de Geer department/section: Design Aesthetics : Delft Biorobotics Laboratory : Netherlands : Dr. ir. M. Wisse : May 10, 2009 : November 30, 2009

     

The robot is a mobile manipulator; able to move itself, pick up and place objects The general structure of the robot is based on the patent pending “Mobile Robotic Arm” (See figure 2) The gripping mechanism is based on the underactuated gripper developed by DBL (See figure 3) The computing power is a laptop The robot must be mechanically safe by using weak actuation Production costs are no more than €2000 (excluding laptop)

In the modern western society, great labour shortages are foreseen. Manufacturing work has already largely been moved to low‐cost countries, but this is impossible for service work that requires local presence. One of the prominent examples is personal care, such as elderly care. A potential solution to this societal problem is automation. For decades, people have dreamt about the promise of robotics technology, but only recently this has become a realistic scenario. Thanks to the availability of cheap high‐performance processing power, the past five years have brought the first breakthrough consumer robot (the Roomba vacuum robot) and a range of robotic toys. This seems to imply that both the market and the technology is ready. Combined with the foreseen labor shortages this has led to the prediction that the market for personal robots will grow dramatically in the coming decade, see Figure 1. The Delft Biorobotics Laboratory has a strong background in creating robotic technology. Robotics can be of great assistance for the growing group of elderly who, with a little help, could live independently. This is why the DBL has the ambition to develop personal robots that will be sold on the consumer market for elderly. Therefore, the Delft Biorobotics Laboratory aims to create a spin‐off company that produces and sells personal robots using their technology. This assignment is part of that endeavour.

Figure 2: Principle of the Mobile Robotic Arm

Figure 3: Low cost gripper developed by the Delft Biorobotics Laboratory

Robots have proved to be controversial when it comes to acceptance of personal robotic assistance. This makes user centered design/research essential, especially for the target group of elderly who value their independence and ability to take care of themselves.

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Being a research laboratory, the DBL has the knowledge about the technology for building personal robots but is not familiar with designing for the needs of the final users and producing consumer products in (large) series. Since the DBL aims to produce robots for the consumer market, more specific for elderly, the above becomes a sticking point.

ASSIGNMENT Design a personal assistant robot for elderly that is, on one hand based on the starting points of the DBL and on the other hand based on user centered research. This should result in a consumer product that is acceptable for the final users regarding the executed tasks, looks and interaction and technically possible to develop at the DBL. Hereby the starting points function as initial specifications and not as final boundaries for the design.

Figure 1: Prediction showing that the market for personal robots will grow dramatically in the near future.

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Doing research about the context of the future product and user testing the concepts on location (the living spaces of the elderly) will be essential steps to come to a successful design. According to the found user requirements, the hardware will be designed. The needed software (intelligence) abilities will be described for further development by artificial intelligence researchers.

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Appendix B: Exploratory Study

RESULTS

This project will result in a definition of the user requirements. Based on the outcomes several concepts will be developed and one design will be further elaborated. This design includes the production and an estimate of the manufacturing cost. Concluding a prototype will be built that enables to validate the requirements and design choices by doing user testing.

OVERALL PLANNING OF THE GRADUATION PROJECT Weeks 3 2 3 3 4 3 2

Project definition, identification of users User study, definition of requirements Idea generation Conceptualisation & testing Development final concept Prototyping Evaluation and report

Service Robots for Healthcare Introduction

Numerous projects have been running where the presence of personal service robots in human environments have been explored. In this section the research that has been done in the past about the influence of appearance and the tasks the robot should execute to be a supportive robot for healthcare will be discussed. The research questions of this section are: • What abilities for a robot could be necessary in healthcare? • How should safety be addressed compared to industrial robots? • What are the technological challenges for personal robots?

The Need for Service Products

The population ageing problem in the western society is described often and generally accepted as an actual problem in the near future [1;2]. The amount of people needing care and the costs that come along with it are rising steadily and will remain doing so the next decades [3;4]. Especially for the group of persons who cannot live independently without some assistance in their homes, technology has the potential to reduce the rising costs and the shortage of personnel in the health care sector. At this moment there are no robotic products on the market that are capable to fill in the need. Instead, several other projects have been initiated to support the independence of persons with disabilities and other people needing care. For example, service dogs are being trained to help these people in several manipulating tasks such as switching the light. One organization training these dogs is the “Georgia Canines for Independence” [5]. Apart from dogs, the organization “Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled” raises and trains monkeys to assist people with every day activities[6]. The use of monkeys allows the manipulation of more objects compared to a dog, for example the monkeys can operate a CD player. Persons who are involved in these projects show that they can be more independent while still living at home.

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Figure 1: Service Monkey and Service Dog

• How does the appearance of robots influence the user experience?

The disadvantage of the use of animals is that the training is consuming in time and cost; it takes 2 years to train a dog and its value is more than $17000[5]. The education of a monkey costs approximately $10000 and a complete placement of a monkey, from birth to death, has a value of $35,000[6]. Another disadvantage is that the animals are living creatures and need to be taken care of, something that is difficult for someone with limited mobility. These projects show that by executing relatively simple tasks in the homes of elderly and persons with disabilities, the persons can gain a significant amount of independence and are able to stay at home without human help. It also shows that there is a direct need for such an aid at home, according to Georgia Canines for Independence, in the US about 1200 people apply for a service dog per year while only about 500 can receive one[5]. Personal robots have the potential to reduce the price for an equal service in the homes and increase the amount of persons who are helped.

Needed Abilities Physical tasks

There have been several researches concerning the tasks a robot needs to be able to execute. In an online research where subjects were shown images of several robots and were asked to assign tasks that they would like the robot to do. The task domains that scored high were mainly: domestic, healthcare, toys, personal assistant and security [7]. Another research in the form of a survey indicated that users would like the robot to do general cleaning, tiding, prepare tea and other drinks, prepare breakfast, guard the house and help with schoolwork [8].

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These researches have been quite direct in asking subjects to come up with the tasks themselves, the results depend on the fantasy of the subjects which not necessarily leads to useful functions that are possible to be executed by robots. Furthermore for the goal of designing robots for persons with mobility limitations, it is necessary to look more specifically at the functionality the personal robot needs to have to help the users being more independent. Using the Movaid robot a research has been conducted under persons with mobility limitations to find the desired capabilities for the robot[9]. The actual desired capabilities are not presented in the results, instead the authors described three sample tasks that should represent the desired capabilities. The sample tasks are [9]: • Warm up some food in a microwave oven and serve it at the user’s bed

Table 1: Tasks the trained service animals can perform Monkey[6]

Dog [5]

Set up a drink of water

Open and close doors

Providing food and help a person to eat

Turn lights on and off

Picking up a dropped or out-of-reach object

Retrieve dropped or needed items

Turning the pages of a book

Pull wheelchairs

Scratch and itch

Assist with balance

Reposition a hand or a foot after a muscle spasm Assist with use of a telephone and computer Handle a DVD

• Clean the kitchen work surface • Remove dirty sheets from a bed Another research in the form of interviews with persons with mobility limitations has been conducted showed that the subjects give a high priority to the following tasks [10]: • Independence in going outdoors • Assistance in meal preparation, eating, drinking • Control of home appliances from the bed or wheelchair • Bringing/removing objects while they are in the bed The study also showed that the subjects “consider it very important to feel themselves comfortable in the bed and wheelchair where they spend most of their time.” [10] As described earlier service dogs and monkeys are being trained to help persons with limited mobility. It has to be taken into account that the tasks they perform are based not only on the desires of the users but also on the capabilities of the animals. Nevertheless the performed tasks can be a good indication to what assistance is desired. The lists of tasks are shown in Table 1. In general the lists of capabilities of these animals are in accordance with the researches described above. One of the capabilities reoccurring several times is the picking up and bringing objects to the user. It is still necessary to determine which range of objects this concerns. It can be drawn from these lists that the capabilities that appear to be desired and used by the users range from very fine manipulation to more rough movements. Some of these tasks could be performed by robots without the need of a lot of development, like pulling a wheelchair, while others would require much more research and development of mechanics and robot intelligence.

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Surveillance

A project that is running in the Netherlands as a successful pilot is using Unattended Autonomous Surveillance (UAS) [11], an intelligent system with a set of sensors installed at the homes of people suffering dementia and patients with somatic complaints. The system can, without using video, autonomously detect an emergency and alarm the caring institution. The system has proved to allow persons to live independently which would have been otherwise impossible. With a similar goal as this project, some service dogs are trained to assist people with seizure disorders [5]. They are capable to recognize a seizure and in the event of one get help, retrieve the phone or medications and activate an automated dialer for an ambulance. Using the robot Arter and SoftHaptic interface [12] an E-service robot is described which enables functions such as family health information management, monitoring of the patient and monitoring of safety threats such as smoke and gas. Several surveillance products are on the market but are still not widespread. According to [13] this is because of unsuccessful integration into the existing care systems. Also these systems do not combine surveillance with the other needed tasks that are often necessary, as described above. Surveillance seems to be a capability of a robot which can strongly help to improve the independence and prolong the ability to live at home for persons needing care. The apparently successful application of surveillance also shows that valuable tasks cannot always be found by only asking users since none of the described researches using surveys and interviews indicated a desired functionality of this kind. It could be explained by the fact that subjects from the target group might, incorrectly, think that surveillance would jeopardize their privacy. Another possibility is that subjects are not familiar with all the possibilities technology may have and therefore do not consider them as possible functions.

Appearance and Experience

For the proposed personal robot, like for all consumer products, the appearance and the experience of the user are as important factors for success as the functionality. The user’s experience with a robot is still relatively unexplored and brings many new questions that need to be researched. This is mainly because the robot is doing things autonomously and is therefore different from normal consumer products. Kaplan [14] argues that user experience could make the difference for a robot to become a valuable everyday object and the fact that robots are still not widespread is because there has not yet been enough research in this field. It has been shown that the appearance of a robot influences the tasks people assign to the robot [7]. In the framework for classifying social robots [15] form is divided in three categories: Abstract, Biomorphic, (mimicking a lifelike object), Anthropomorphic (mimicking a human). Next to form, the next modalities are considered in the framework: social norms, autonomy and interactivity. Bartneck [15] argues that making the robot too anthropomorphic would create false expectations about the abilities of the robot, a biomorphic form like a dog should fit better to the expectations. For the same reason of false expectations, DiSalvo [16] describes that a robot should retain an amount of “robotness”. On the other hand he also expresses the need for a certain amount of “humanness” which should make it more comfortable for the user to interact with the robot. While if a robot appears too humanlike and intelligent users could see it as a thing with its own will and therefore a less reliable worker [17]. In addition Bartneck [15] claims that for correct interaction the behaviour of the robot should comply with the social norms of people, a service robot should act according to the serving norms. Like in human-to-human communication, the face of the robot seems the most influencing factor [18]. It has been shown that the more features are present on the face of a robot, the more anthropomorphic it appears [16]. The features do not need to be elaborated but affordances of indications of facial features are sufficient for a human-like perception [16]. While this is known, it remains unclear what amount of anthromorphism is actually required. When asked, many persons within the target group of elderly and disabled showed a negative attitude towards robotic help while technical aid in general was not regarded negative [9]. The subjects changed their negative view on robotic help after some experiments with the physical robot Movaid. Apparently the word “robot” can have a negative connotation while the experience of working with one is not regarded negative. This is an important aspect to keep in mind when communicating about the proposed personal robot. Appearance influences the expectations which makes it a very important factor for the interpretation and experience. The appearance of the robot should not give

the user expectations which are too high, this could cause disappointment and a negative experience. On the other hand the expectations should not be too low, users have to be convinced that the robot is capable of doing the needed tasks. The use of the word “robot” has to be considered when communicating about the product, especially without providing more specific information such as the use and the appearance. The results given by the researches cannot be used as guidelines because these are findings for very specific researches. No universal rules can be formulated for how a personal robot should appear or what the user experience should be. For every given situation, with different users, functionalities and locations, these results will be different.

Safety

It has been described that robots that are active in human environments have different requirements than robots in industry [19;20]. The requirements mainly concern safety, as precision is important for industrial robots, safety is a key feature for robots in human environments. Research has been done to implement safety into conventional industrial robotic arms by algorithms [19]. Instead of making the robot safe through software, a different approach is to make robots safe through the hardware itself by introducing mechanical compliance [20;21]. Although this approach reduces the performance of the robot in terms of accuracy, this can be solved by developing suitable actuating algorithms [21]. Creating robots that are safe by using traditional (industrial) actuation methods is a dead end. Since the requirements for personal robots are so different than for industrial robots a different approach is needed, mechanical compliance seems to be right approach. The DBL has experience in building and controlling mechanically complied designs that are safe mechanically and not only through software [22].

Technological Challenges

Having the aim to develop service/rehabilitation robots, the robots have to be autonomous. The autonomous operation of a robot in human environments is depending on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and is generally regarded as a big challenge by researchers [19;23;24]. The problem is the fact that human environments are more complex and dynamic compared to industrial environments, where robots have been operating successfully for several decades. To deal with these environments the robots must have a completely different set of AI which is still in development. It has even been stated that the implementation of autonomous robots in human environments is a long term goal and will not be possible in the next few years [24;25].

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A Standard

There is a need for development in technology to overcome the challenges robots have in human environments. As in other fields of technologies, standardization has lead to a fast development worldwide, a standard robot development platform is often described as a solution to enhance the development of such technologies [26;27]. The many research projects about robots in human environments now are very promising but because of the non-standard layout difficult to continue on. For the software of robots some standards have already arisen, such as the Player/Stage package and the Gazebo [28] and USARSim5 [29] simulation environments. These robot simulation packages allow researchers to develop artificial intelligence without taking the effort to build the physical robot. The advantage of such simulation is that different layouts of the robot and sensors can be applied and tested quickly. The big disadvantage is that using simulations it is not possible to test the interaction of the robot with a person.

Education

The staff of several universities have expressed the need for a cheap standard robot platform to be used in the curriculum, mainly for AI education [30;31]. In addition the mobile platform ERA by Videre Design is based on the experience of teaching advanced robotics at Stanford University [32]. The two universities described above initiated their own projects for the personal robot platform. To develop new technologies it is essential for institutes to be able to cooperate with each other, and even more important, continue on each other’s work. The development platforms described by the institutions above are modular and customizable. This is because every researchers and instructor needs different hardware properties for his robot.

Conclusions How could personal service robots support for healthcare?

Personal robots in healthcare are one of the plausible solutions to solve some of the problems the western society is facing with the aging population. Service dogs and monkeys show that relatively simple tasks can contribute to the independence of persons. Persons with mobility problems who, with a little help, could live independently are the group who can benefit most from the robotic technology.

searches it seems that most needed tasks are relatively easy to be performed by a robot while others will need more time and development. Picking up objects and bringing them to the user seem to be a key capability. It has yet to be determined what this range of objects is. Surveillance also seems to be a useful function of the robot that can add a lot to the independence of the users and is relatively easy to integrate.

How does the appearance of robots influence the user experience?

It has been shown that the experience of the user is influenced strongly by the looks of the robot. An important factor of the experience are the expectations of the users about the robot. The face or the head seem to be the most influencing elements. For the proposed robot the right balance between anthromorphism, biomorphism and abstraction needs to be found. In big lines it is known that antromorphism could make it more comfortable for the user to interact with the robot but can create false expectations. The results described in the research give a useful set of factors that have to be taken into account when designing the personal robot.

How should safety be addressed compared to industrial robots?

Instead of using traditional actuation, common in industrial robots, combined with sensory technology to avoid dangerous collisions, it is better do create robots that are mechanically compliant. The DBL is specialised in developing such compliant robotic systems.

What are the technological challenges for personal robots?

The physical technology appears to be ready to be implemented in robots for human environments. The big challenge lies within the intelligence. Depending on the complexity of the found tasks the robot should be able to execute and the current state of the technology it might be impossible to create a robot being able to execute the tasks on a short term. To be a successful consumer product, robot needs to be based on the users and not on the technology. This counts both for the capabilities and appearance. Numerous personal robots have been created and a lot of research has been done concerning the abilities of personal robots and robots in human environments. While only little user-centered research has been done that concerns the tasks the personal robots need to execute for the users, especially for people having mobility problems. The same counts for the appearance of the robot.

What abilities for a robot could be necessary in healthcare?

More (primary) research is needed to determine the desired tasks of the robot. Not only by asking users, but also by investigating the situation of patients and talking to the caretakers. With the information that is available from previous re-

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Appendix C: Official Assisting Devices WET TEGEMOETKOMING CHRONISCH ZIEKEN EN GEHANDICAPTEN (WTCG) Auditieve hulpmiddelen, zoals: • Hoortoestellen • Hoorbrillen • Overige hoorhulpmiddelen • Baha-hoortoestellen • Solo-apparatuur Geleidehonden Hulpmiddelen bij ademhalingsproblemen, zoals: Apparatuur voor een positieve uitademingsdruk • Zuurstofapparaten met toebehoren • Cpap apparatuur • Longvibrator • Vernevelaar met toebehoren Hulpmiddelen ten bate van de arm-hand-vingerfunctie Hulpmiddelen voor thuisdialyse Hulpmiddelen voor communicatie, informatie en signalering, zoals: • Computers inclusief toebehoren • Signalering/alarmering • Opname- en voorleesapparatuur • Telefoneerhulpmiddelen Hulpmiddelen voor de mobiliteit van personen, zoals: • Rollator • Driepoot • Okselkruk Hulpmiddelen in verband met behandeling, zoals: • Draagbare infuuspompen • Uitwendige electrostimulatoren Uitwendige elektrostimulators tegen chronische pijn met toebehoren Hulpmiddelen voor het toedienen van voeding, zoals: • Parenterale voedingshulpmiddelen • Draagbare, uitwendige infuuspompen 12

• Eetapparaten Inrichtingselementen van woningen Orthesen en schoenvoorzieningen, zoals: • Orthesen voor romp, arm, been, voet, hoofd of hals • Orthopedisch schoeisel en schoenvoorzieningen, zoals verbandschoenen Prothesen, zoals: • Prothesen voor schouder, arm, hand, been of voet • Gelaatsprothesen • Oogprothesen • Mammaprothesen Transportondersteuners van bloed en lymfe, zoals: • Therapeutische elastische kousen • Aan- en uittrekhulp • Overige hulpmiddelen ter ondersteuning van bloed en lymfe Verzorgingsmiddelen, zoals: • Anaalpluggen • Stomahulpmiddelen en urinalen • Incontinentiematerialen • Voorzieningen voor stomapatiënten • Slijmuitzuigapparatuur • Overige verzorgingsmiddelen Visuele hulpmiddelen, zoals: • Prismabrillen • Telescopen op bril Zelfmeetapparatuur voor bloedstollingstijden Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport http://www.minvws.nl

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Appendix D: Mindmap Elderly At Home

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Appendix E: Interview Data Contextual Inquiry Contextual User Study Subject 1 Eerste vragen Leeftijd 79 Geslacht Vrouw Woonsituatie Aleen Activiteiten buiten huis: Werk/ Hobby’s/ Vrienden, Hoe vaak per week? 2 keer per week thuis. Hobby’s: Naar sauna gaan, vrienden opzoeken Soort huis Rijtjeshuis, 2 verdiepingen

Gestandaardiseerde vragen over beperkingen OESO‐indicator (Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling) Horen  Een gesprek volgen in een groep van drie of meer personen (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) A  Met één andere persoon een gesprek voeren (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) A Zien  Kleine letters in de krant lezen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) A  op een afstand van 4 meter het gezicht van iemand herkennen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) A Bewegen  een voorwerp van 5 kilo, bijv. een volle boodschappentas 10 meter dragen B  rechtop staand kunnen bukken en iets van de grond oppakken B  400 meter aan een stuk lopen zonder stil te staan (zo nodig met stok) B

ADL‐indicator (Algemene Dagelijkse Levensverrichtingen) 1. Eten en drinken A 2. Gaan zitten en opstaan uit een stoel A 3. In‐ en uit bed stappen A 4. Aan‐ en uitkleden A 5. Zich verplaatsen naar een andere kamer op dezelfde verdieping A 6. De trap op‐ en aflopen A 7. De woning verlaten en binnengaan A 8. Zich verplaatsen buitenshuis A 9. Het gezicht en de handen wassen A 10. Zich volledig wassen A Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) alleen met hulp van anderen

Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) kan niet

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Activiteiten Thuis

Contextual User Study

Hulp in huishouden doet: Stofzuigen, Ramen wassen, Stoffen Tuin onderhouden Gras maaien Stoffen Home trainer Auto wassen Afwassen Koken Strijken Was doen Kleding repareren Op trapleer staan Tuinhuis onderhouden

Vaak 2x p week X X X X

Vervelend Niet Leuk Vervelend

Zwaar X

Onveilig X Op trapleer

Subject 2 Leukste X

Wil zelf doen X

Aan de hand van observatie De genoemde taken visueel weergeven op een pagina van dagboek      

Welke activiteiten komen het meeste voor? Hoe vaak? Welke activiteiten vind u het meest vervelend? Waarom? Weke activiteiten vind u het zwaarst/moeilijkst om te doen? Waarom? Welke activiteiten geven u een onveilig gevoel? Waarom? Welke activiteiten vind u het leukste om te doen? Waarom? Welke activiteiten zou u zelf willen blijven doen zonder hulp? Waarom?

Open vragen tot slot Welke activiteiten thuis zou u willen doen die nu onmogelijk zijn. Waarom deze activiteiten en waarom zijn ze onmogelijk? De gang witten Welke activiteiten thuis geven u een gevoel van onafhankelijkheid? X In welke activiteiten thuis zou u hulp van technologie willen krijgen? Waarom deze activiteiten? Heeft geprobeerd grijper te gebruiken in de tuin om onkruid te verwijderen.

Eerste vragen Leeftijd 78(m) 77(v) Geslacht Man en Vrouw Woonsituatie Activiteiten buiten huis: Werk/ Hobby’s/ Vrienden, Hoe vaak per week? Soort huis

Gestandaardiseerde vragen over beperkingen OESO‐indicator (Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling) Horen  Een gesprek volgen in een groep van drie of meer personen (zo nodig met hoorapparaat)  Met één andere persoon een gesprek voeren (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) Zien  Kleine letters in de krant lezen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen)  op een afstand van 4 meter het gezicht van iemand herkennen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) Bewegen  een voorwerp van 5 kilo, bijv. een volle boodschappentas 10 meter dragen  rechtop staand kunnen bukken en iets van de grond oppakken  400 meter aan een stuk lopen zonder stil te staan (zo nodig met stok)

ADL‐indicator (Algemene Dagelijkse Levensverrichtingen) 1. Eten en drinken 2. Gaan zitten en opstaan uit een stoel 3. In‐ en uit bed stappen 4. Aan‐ en uitkleden 5. Zich verplaatsen naar een andere kamer op dezelfde verdieping 6. De trap op‐ en aflopen 7. De woning verlaten en binnengaan 8. Zich verplaatsen buitenshuis 9. Het gezicht en de handen wassen 10. Zich volledig wassen Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) alleen met hulp van anderen


Robot stofzuiger lijkt haar gek, NU. Over 5 jaar denkt ze misschien anders. Personal service robot die een drankje komt brengen lijkt naar niks, alleen als je helemaal verlamd bent en niks meer kunt. Heeft liever een persoon op bezoek als hulp, dan is er sociaal contact

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Activiteiten Thuis


Hulp in huishouden doet: 1x per week en doet “alles”, Stofzuigen, Ramen Was doen Boekenkast Koken Strijken Vaatwasser Boodschappen Gras maaien Dekbed verschonen Lezen Heg Trapleer Spitten

Vaak X X

Vervelend X X X

Zwaar X X

Onveilig X

Leukste X X

Wil zelf doen



Open vragen tot slot Welke activiteiten thuis zou u willen doen die nu onmogelijk zijn. Waarom deze activiteiten en waarom zijn ze onmogelijk Schilderen, fietsen Welke activiteiten thuis geven u een gevoel van onafhankelijkheid? In welke activiteiten thuis zou u hulp van technologie willen krijgen? Waarom deze activiteiten? Liever een hulp, kunt je mee communiceren en uitleggen Stofzuiger lijkt erg leuk Robot hoeft niet veel dingen voor je doen, je moet in beweging blijven. Alleen als je invalide bent, dan kan het. Verpakkingen openen Kan niet voorstellen om robots in huis te hebben, maar Roomba lijkt ze erg leuk. Ook in de tuin lijkt het erg handig.

Subject 3 Eerste vragen Leeftijd 91(m) 78(v) Geslacht Man en Vrouw Woonsituatie Samen Activiteiten buiten huis: Werk/ Hobby’s/ Vrienden, Hoe vaak per week? 7 dagen per week Soort huis 3 verdiepingen rijtjeshuis

Gestandaardiseerde vragen over beperkingen OESO‐indicator (Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling) Horen  Een gesprek volgen in een groep van drie of meer personen (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) AA  Met één andere persoon een gesprek voeren (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) AA Zien  Kleine letters in de krant lezen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) BA  op een afstand van 4 meter het gezicht van iemand herkennen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) AA Bewegen  een voorwerp van 5 kilo, bijv. een volle boodschappentas 10 meter dragen DA  rechtop staand kunnen bukken en iets van de grond oppakken DA  400 meter aan een stuk lopen zonder stil te staan (zo nodig met stok) DA Man heeft veel beperkingen, voornamelijk mobiliteit Vrouw heeft geen beperkingen

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Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) alleen met hulp van anderen


Robtos lijken onpersoonlijk, zeker in huis

ADL‐indicator (Algemene Dagelijkse Levensverrichtingen) 1. Eten en drinken 2. Gaan zitten en opstaan uit een stoel 3. In‐ en uit bed stappen 4. Aan‐ en uitkleden 5. Zich verplaatsen naar een andere kamer op dezelfde verdieping 6. De trap op‐ en aflopen 7. De woning verlaten en binnengaan 8. Zich verplaatsen buitenshuis 9. Het gezicht en de handen wassen 10. Zich volledig wassen

21

Activiteiten Thuis

Belangrijke eigenschappen voor techniek voor de immobiele man

Hulp in huishouden doet: Geen Ramen wassen Stofzuigen Afwassen Tuin Koken Strijken Verzorging man Hoge dingen pakken TV kijken Was doen

Vaak X X X

Vervelend

Zwaar X X

Onveilig x

Leukste X X

Wil zelf doen x x



Open vragen tot slot Welke activiteiten thuis zou u willen doen die nu onmogelijk zijn. Waarom deze activiteiten en waarom zijn ze onmogelijk Welke activiteiten thuis geven u een gevoel van onafhankelijkheid? Zolang het zelf kan, wil blijven doen In welke activiteiten thuis zou u hulp van technologie willen krijgen? Waarom deze activiteiten? Roomba lijkt erg leuk en wordt minder moe. De energie die je daar niet in steekt kun je weer voor iets anders gebruiken Voor de man:    

Oppakken van de grond Een grijper kan bijdragen Boek uit de kast Dingen brengen

  

Moet begrijpelijk zijn. Niet moeilijk te bedienen zijn zoals een PC Moet functie hebben die je kan gebruiken Moet vertrouwen krijgen in techniek, of het de functies kan uitvoeren

Overig    

Contextual User Study Subject 4 Eerste vragen Leeftijd 84(m) 78(v)

Man vindt zichzelf een last voor zijn vrouw Als je minder kan, laat je het materiële los en denk je meer aan het immateriële Pijngrens moet steeds verlegd worden Een scootmobiel zou veel kunnen bijdragen aan de mobiliteit van de persoon

Geslacht Man en Vrouw Woonsituatie Samen Activiteiten buiten huis: Werk/ Hobby’s/ Vrienden, Hoe vaak per week? 2 a 4 dagen Soort huis 1 verdieping appartement

Gestandaardiseerde vragen over beperkingen OESO‐indicator (Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling) Horen  Een gesprek volgen in een groep van drie of meer personen (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) AA  Met één andere persoon een gesprek voeren (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) AA Zien  Kleine letters in de krant lezen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) AA  op een afstand van 4 meter het gezicht van iemand herkennen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) AA Bewegen  een voorwerp van 5 kilo, bijv. een volle boodschappentas 10 meter dragen AA  rechtop staand kunnen bukken en iets van de grond oppakken AA  400 meter aan een stuk lopen zonder stil te staan (zo nodig met stok) AA Beide hebben geen beperkingen

ADL‐indicator (Algemene Dagelijkse Levensverrichtingen) 1. Eten en drinken AA 2. Gaan zitten en opstaan uit een stoel AA 3. In‐ en uit bed stappen AA 4. Aan‐ en uitkleden AA 5. Zich verplaatsen naar een andere kamer op dezelfde verdieping AA 6. De trap op‐ en aflopen BA 7. De woning verlaten en binnengaan AA 8. Zich verplaatsen buitenshuis AA 9. Het gezicht en de handen wassen AA 10. Zich volledig wassen AA Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) alleen met hulp van anderen Allebei geen beperkingen


22

23

Activiteiten Thuis

Niet specifiek behoefte aan een persoon als hulp. Ze hebben genoeg sociale contacten.


Hulp in huishouden doet: 1 keer in de 2 weken. Doen samen met vrouw het hele huis, sanitair, keuken grondig schoonmaken.

Huishoudelijk werk is vrij stom, je zou leukere dingen kunnen doen als het voor je gedaan wordt. Kun je meer tijd overhouden om te lezen, wandelen.

Subject 5

Bedden verschonen Keuken schoonmaken Bad uitvegen Sanitair schoonmaken Tafel dekken Boodschappen doen Ramen lappen Stofzuigen Stoffen Zilver en koper poetsen Vaatwasser inruimen/uitruimen Schoenen poetsen Op een trap werken Lampen verwisselen Wassen Strijken Vuilnis opruimen Papier en flessen Naaien Planten water geven

Vaak Vervelend X

Zwaar x

Onveilig

Leukste x

Wil zelf doen X

Als het goed gebeurt, kan het door techniek gedaan worden

X

Omdraaien matrassen (zwaar)

X

voldoening

Kasten schoonmaken

X

X X

X x

Zelf goed doen Zelf goed doen x voldoening



Open vragen tot slot Welke activiteiten thuis zou u willen doen die nu onmogelijk zijn. Waarom deze activiteiten en waarom zijn ze onmogelijk Welke activiteiten thuis geven u een gevoel van onafhankelijkheid? In welke activiteiten thuis zou u hulp van technologie willen krijgen? Waarom deze activiteiten?

24

Eerste vragen Leeftijd

Ramen wassen

87(m) 77(v) Geslacht

Leer van de bank poetsen

Man en Vrouw Woonsituatie

Stofzuigen Strijken

Samen

Sanitair schoonmaken

Activiteiten buiten huis: Werk/ Hobby’s/ Vrienden, Hoe vaak per week? 4 dagen

Roomba lijkt ze ideaal

Soort huis 1 verdieping appartement

Dagboekje Planten verzorgen Huis opruimen Koffie drinken Papier en vuilnis opruimen Bedden verschonen Slaapkamer en kozijnen stoffen Lunch klaarmaken Medicijnen ophalen Bridgen Administratie op pc Wandelen Avondeten koken TV kijken Lezen en puzzelen Was opruimen Thee drinken Wijntje drinken Krantje lezen Toilet maken Wc badkamer schoonmaken Was ophangen Bankzaken telefoneren

Positief x x x X X X X X X X X X

Negatief x x

Gestandaardiseerde vragen over beperkingen OESO‐indicator (Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling) Horen  Een gesprek volgen in een groep van drie of meer personen (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) AB  Met één andere persoon een gesprek voeren (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) AA Zien  Kleine letters in de krant lezen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) AB  op een afstand van 4 meter het gezicht van iemand herkennen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) AA Bewegen  een voorwerp van 5 kilo, bijv. een volle boodschappentas 10 meter dragen AB  rechtop staand kunnen bukken en iets van de grond oppakken AB  400 meter aan een stuk lopen zonder stil te staan (zo nodig met stok) AA

ADL‐indicator (Algemene Dagelijkse Levensverrichtingen) 1. Eten en drinken AA 2. Gaan zitten en opstaan uit een stoel AA 3. In‐ en uit bed stappen AA 4. Aan‐ en uitkleden AA 5. Zich verplaatsen naar een andere kamer op dezelfde verdieping AA 6. De trap op‐ en aflopen BA 7. De woning verlaten en binnengaan AA 8. Zich verplaatsen buitenshuis AA 9. Het gezicht en de handen wassen AA 10. Zich volledig wassen AA Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) alleen met hulp van anderen Allebei geen beperkingen


25

Activiteiten Thuis

Ordening in papieren, door vergeetachtigheid wordt het erg lastig

Hulp in huishouden doet:

1x in 2 weken  Stofzuigen  Badkamer wc

Dagboekje

Ontbijt klaarmaken Lezen Boodschappen doen Koken Hobby Visite ontvangen vaatwasser stofzuigen Financiën bijhouden Opruimen Wc schoonmaken Planten water geven Rolluik Scheren Achter PC Op trapje staan

Vaak x x x x x

Vervelend X x x x

Zwaar x

Onveilig x

Leukste x X x x

Wil zelf doen X X X X



Planten water geven Ontbijten en opruimen Papieren opruimen Lunch klaarmaken en opruimen Ledenbestand club op pc Eten en opruimen wassen strijken Met buren eten Boodschappen doen Boodschappen inruimen

Positief X X X

Negatief X vermoeiend

Open vragen tot slot Welke activiteiten thuis zou u willen doen die nu onmogelijk zijn. Waarom deze activiteiten en waarom zijn ze onmogelijk Welke activiteiten thuis geven u een gevoel van onafhankelijkheid? In welke activiteiten thuis zou u hulp van technologie willen krijgen? Waarom deze activiteiten? Alles voor gemak Roomba lijkt ze ergleuk

26

27

Appendix F: Scoring Data Contextual Inquiry

28

Subject/ Group 1

29

30

Subject/ Group 2

Subject/ Group 3

31

32

Subject/ Group 4

Subject/ Group 5

33

Appendix G: Interview Setup Contextual User Study Introductie Afstuderen: Onderwerp technologie als hulp voor ouderen thuis Inzicht in leefsituatie en de activiteiten in huis die lastig zijn of juist niet Er bestaan geen foute antwoorden, alle informatie is nuttig Geheel anoniem, naam zal nergens terugkomen Interview neem ik op en maak foto’s van de locatie, heeft u bezwaar op één van deze dingen?

Eerste vragen Leeftijd Geslacht Woonsituatie Activiteiten buiten huis: Werk/ Hobby’s/ Vrienden, Hoe vaak per week?

ADL‐indicator (Algemene Dagelijkse Levensverrichtingen) 1. Eten en drinken 2. Gaan zitten en opstaan uit een stoel 3. In‐ en uit bed stappen 4. Aan‐ en uitkleden 5. Zich verplaatsen naar een andere kamer op dezelfde verdieping 6. De trap op‐ en aflopen 7. De woning verlaten en binnengaan 8. Zich verplaatsen buitenshuis 9. Het gezicht en de handen wassen 10. Zich volledig wassen Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) alleen met hulp van anderen

Soort huis

Gestandaardiseerde vragen over beperkingen

OESO‐indicator (Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling) Horen  Een gesprek volgen in een groep van drie of meer personen (zo nodig met hoorapparaat)  Met één andere persoon een gesprek voeren (zo nodig met hoorapparaat) Zien  Kleine letters in de krant lezen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen)  op een afstand van 4 meter het gezicht van iemand herkennen (zo nodig met bril of contactlenzen) Bewegen  een voorwerp van 5 kilo, bijv. een volle boodschappentas 10 meter dragen  rechtop staand kunnen bukken en iets van de grond oppakken  400 meter aan een stuk lopen zonder stil te staan (zo nodig met stok) Mogelijke antwoorden: a) zonder moeite b) met enige moeite c) met grote moeite d) kan niet

34

35

Appendix H: Diary Data Contextual Inquiry Subject/ Group 1 Observatie Om een indruk te krijgen van de omgeving en de activiteiten vragen een gemiddelde dag te herbeleven met nadruk op huishoudelijke taken maar ook overige activiteiten (eten, ontspannen) Vastleggen   

Fotograferen Notities Geluidsrecorder

Observatie      

Herbeleven van een normale dag Welke locaties Welke taken Welke objecten Wie was erbij betrokken Welke apparatuur gebruikt

Interview Aan de hand van observatie De genoemde taken visueel weergeven op een pagina van dagboek      


Open vragen tot slot Welke activiteiten thuis zou u willen doen die nu onmogelijk zijn. Waarom deze activiteiten en waarom zijn ze onmogelijk? Welke activiteiten thuis geven u een gevoel van onafhankelijkheid? In welke activiteiten thuis zou u hulp van technologie willen krijgen? Waarom deze activiteiten?

36

37

Subject/ Group 2

38

Subject/ Group 4

39

Kasten schoonmaken Stofzuigen

Subject/ Group 5

Strijken

Summarized results from diaries

Dagboekje Positief X X

Negatief X

X X

X

Subject/ Group 2 Dagboekje Gras maaien Koken Vaatwasser vullen Ontbijten Winkelen Voorpad Ontbijten met eitje Koffie drinken In tuin werken Lunchen in stad wasmachine Tv

40

Positief X X X X X X X X X X X X

Roomba lijkt ze ideaal Subject/ Group 4

Dagboekje

Subject/ Group 1 Eten Afwassen Naar de markt Naar zoon op visite Vriendin naar ziekenhuis brengen Koken Thuiszorg komt Televisie kijken

Sanitair schoonmaken

Negatief

Positief Planten verzorgen x Huis opruimen x Koffie drinken x Papier en vuilnis opruimen Bedden verschonen Slaapkamer en kozijnen stoffen Lunch klaarmaken X Medicijnen ophalen Bridgen X Administratie op pc Wandelen X Avondeten koken X TV kijken X Lezen en puzzelen X Was opruimen Thee drinken X Wijntje drinken X Krantje lezen X Toilet maken Wc badkamer schoonmaken Was ophangen Bankzaken telefoneren Ordening in papieren, door vergeetachtigheid wordt het erg lastig

Subject/ Group 5

Negatief x x

Dagboekje Planten water geven Ontbijten en opruimen Papieren opruimen Lunch klaarmaken en opruimen Ledenbestand club op pc Eten en opruimen wassen strijken Met buren eten Boodschappen doen Boodschappen inruimen

Positief X X X

Negatief X vermoeiend

41

Appendix I: Objects Grasped at Home Kitchen Cupboard

Food packages

Cookies Cereals Tea & Coffee Salt& Pepper Refrigerated food Bottles Drinking packages Cookware Pans Frying pan Cups Plates Cutlery Bowls Jars Specialised cooking ware Household Bucket Cleaning products Towels Vacuum cleaner Kitchen appliances Mixer Toaster Juicer Clothing Shoes Jacket Clothes Reading Books Newspaper Cosmetics Toothbrush etc Medicine Other

Top of cupboarWorking top

M/H M/H M/H M/H

Living room Book shelves

Cupboard

Dining table

Coffee table

M/H M/H M/H

M M M

M M M

Corridor Coat hook

Floor

Bedroom Closet Under the bed

Work/ storage room Desk Shelves

Bathroom Shelves

M M M M M

L/M/H L/M/H L/H L/H M/H M/H M/H L/M/H L/M/H

H

L L H

H

L/M/H

H

L M

L M

L M M

L

L/M/H L/M M H

M M

M L

Several times a day Daily

Weekly Monthly Less than monthly

42

Refrigerator

L M H

M

L/M/H

Low Middle High

43

Appendix J: Grasped Objects & Orentation Horizontal (H) or Vertical (V)

44

H

V

V

V

H

H

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

V

45

46

V

H

H

H

V

V

H

H

V

V

H

H

V

V

V

V

H

H

H

V

47

Appendix K: Existing Reaching Products Reaching Products

There are some products on the market that allow users to reach and grab objects from high and low places. These products will be examined by looking at their properties, sale and performance.

E-Z Reacher

Arcoa Industries produces several series of reaching and grabbing products. They are mainly focussed on the professional market such as street cleaning. The “E-Z Reacher” series is focussed on the user at home. The images below show the product in use at home.

Figure 2: E-Z Reacher

The reacher is handheld and powered by human power only. By pressing the handle, an object is grabbed with the two fingers of the reacher. By pressing an extra button the reacher is locked in the grabbing position. According to the manufacturer the reacher can be used for a variety of tasks [16]: • Pick up objects that are high, low, or buried in a corner • Put objects up, under, down, or away • Grab dirty or soiled objects you wouldn’t touch with your bare hands • Hang holiday decorations • Remove debris from the garden • Reach groceries or items high on shelves • Pick up books and sewing items

Figure 3: E-Z Reacher used at home

• Retrieve tiny items, like pins or pocket change • Get items under and behind furniture and appliances The reacher is for sale for around 40 euro. The length of the reacher is 66cm and according to the manufacturer it has a carrying capacity of 2,3 Kg. Because the product has to be kept in one hand, while lifting an object with the reacher the arm of momentum on the shoulder and the wrist could become uncomfortably high. The manufacturer is trying to solve this increased momentum by providing a wrist support for the reacher illustrated in Figure 4.

48

Figure 4: Wrist support

49

Helping Hand Classic

The Helping Hand Classic is a reacher that is very similar to the E-Z Reacher. The main difference is the vertical positioning of the “fingers” compared to the E-Z Reacher. At a price of 15 euro it is cheaper than the E-Z Reacher. According to the producer the Helping Hand can be used for [17]: • Helping to maintain independence in daily activities. • No bending or twisting when getting dressed. • Safe retrieval of fallen items. • Handy magnet at the end for keys, etc.

Helping Hand Arthri-grip

Sale of “Helping Hand” reacher

The Helping Hand reachers are sold in the Netherlands. To find out more about the persons who buy the grippers two selling locations of these reachers have been visited. One of the selling locations is a homecare shop and the other a dealer in orthopaedic products. These are the two of the few selling locations of the reachers in Delft. The main questions to be answered during these visits were: • What age group are the buyers of the reachers? • What limitations do the buyers have and for which functions do they buy the product? • How much of the reachers are sold annually?

A variation on the Helping Hand Classic is the Arthri grip. It is sold as a product for persons with arthritic hands. The unique aspect of this gripper is that the head is able to roll 90 degrees allowing to grab both vertical and horizontal objects. A wrist support for lifting heavy objects is included. The price is similar to that of a Helping Hand classic.

The questions were answered by experienced employees of the selling locations. Still, the facts and numbers are indications based on estimations of these employees and are not to be considered as absolute truth

Findings Users Users can be categorised into 4 groups, usually above 40 years: • Persons with Rheumatoid arthritis or MS (often below 40) • Elderly who have difficulty bending and will use it permanently

Amount sold About 100 reachers per year are sold to in each of the visited selling locations. Abilities of the reacher According to the employees the reacher can be used for a large variety of objects, as long they are not too heavy. A big mug can already be too heavy for the reacher. The reacher has a clip to attach it to a walking stick or wheelchair. The employees have indicated that the clip is sometimes used to attach the reacher to a table or wheelchair but never to a waling stick.

Evaluation of the existing reachers

In order to see how the existing reaching products perform in the tasks that the product to-be-designed should be able to execute, the E-Z reacher and the Helping Hand Classic are evaluated in the following three fields; Reachable areas, Grasping objects and User force exertion.

Reachable areas

The length and straight shape of the existing reachers make the reachable areas very limited. Figure 7 shows the reachable areas for the P5 (length) of elderly using the Helping Hand Classic in green and the unreachable areas in red.

Walking sticks The selling locations also sell walking sticks. With about 15 per week per selling locations the amount of walking sticks sold is much higher than the reachers.

The range is limited to the lower shelf of the upper cupboard. Of all the other shelves only the front area can be reached. The top of the cupboard cannot be reached at all

Conclusions

Also for the lower cupboards, without awkward bending only the front areas of the shelves are reachable.

Existing reachers are mainly used by people who have a problem with bending to pick up objects from the ground. The reachers are almost never used for high located objects, not as a substitute for a ladder because it is not very suitable for this.

For a product that enables the user to grab out-of-reach objects, the existing products fail because not all necessary locations can be reached.

The reachers are also never used outside of the house. This could be because of how the reacher looks, its portability and the lack of functionality to use it outside of the house.

• Persons who had hip surgery and temporarily cannot bend • Persons who have no visible limitation but find it useful There is no distinction between men and women, both sexes use the gripper similarly. The reacher costs 15 euro and the insurance does not provide a refund. Users never buy the reachers “just because it’s handy” but always out of some sort of need. Use The use only takes place at home (including garden) and at “verzorgingstehuis” It is used to pickup objects from the ground such as newspapers, letters, dropped items or while cleaning the garden. It is also used to help getting dressed, putting on trousers and socks. Figure 5: Helping Hand Classic

50

Figure 6: Helping Hand Arthri-grip

Only in some rare cases the reacher is used to reach high places. The main use is for low places. It is never used instead of a ladder. The product is not designed to reach for high places.

Figure 7: Reachable areas

51

Conclusions Existing Reachers

Grasping Objects

With both the “EZ Reacher” and the “Helping Hand” reacher objects that represent the selected basic shapes (Table 4 on page 41 of the Thesis) were attempted to grasp and hold. An attempt is noted successful is the object can be grasped, lifted and held in the gripper for 10 seconds. If an object is lifted but is held very unstable the attempt is noted as unsuccessful. Figure 8 shows two examples of the reachers in an attempt to grasp an object. All of the attempts and the results can be found in Appendix M. Both reachers are unable to grasp all of the 8 basic objects sucessfully. The E-Z reacher is able to grasp 4 out of 8 objects, the Helping Hand Classic grasped only 3 out of 8 objects successfully.

The existing reachers are not suitable as a product that enables elderly to reach for objects that are out of reach and prevent the use of stools and ladders. This conclusion is supported by the following findings: • The reachers cannot grab and hold all of the objects representing the 8 basic shapes successfully Figure 11: Weight 1,5Kg on reacher

• The shape of the reachers does not allow the user to reach all the needed locations at home.

Figure 8: Objects grasped

From the field of reachers there is no solution that offers elderly an alternative for standing on a ladder when trying to reach for a high object. This is also true for reaching for objects that are located low, which is also often an issue for elderly.

The attempts mainly failed because the gripping element did not provide a proper grasp around the objects or the force in the gripper is not sufficient.

Bringing the object to the hands

The failure of the existing products is probably caused by the fact that they are not made for the tasks they have been tested for. Their main function is to pick up small and light items from the ground without bending.

After the object is grasped it needs to be taken to the hand of the user. At this moment the reacher needs to be held with one hand (Figure 9). The length of the reacher works as a disadvantage because the hands of the user need to be far apart, at both ends of the reacher in order to take the object from the gripper.

The existing products do have some positive aspects that are worth keeping in mind when designing the new product:

Force exertion

• A considerable variety of objects can be grabbed with a very simple mechanism

Setup

As stated before, the chosen maximum weight that the users need to be able to lift is set to 1,5Kg. The reaction forces of the 1,5Kg load are the forces exerted by the user’s hands. When calculated, these forces are 24N in one hand and 30N in the other hand (Figure 10).

• Holding an object in the reacher up to 1,5Kg causes unacceptable loads on the hands and arms of the users

• There are no difficult controls, the reachers are intuitive and easy to use. • The reachers are small and lightweight

Figure 9: Bringing object to hand

To find how such a weight is experienced by users a user test has been executed. As a substitute of the weight of a heavy object, a metal block with the weight of 1.5Kg is attached at the end of a Helping Hand reacher (Figure 11). Three subjects of different age groups have been asked to mimic reaching actions in cupboards, bringing the reacher up and down using one and two hands (Figure 12).

Results

Figure 12: Subjects testing the weight

All of the subjects have indicated that the tasks are too heavy and above the comfort limit, even for a short period of time (matter of seconds). This holds for using one hand and two hands. It shows that with the configuration of the current reachers the desired objects cannot be reached in a comfortable manner and the use of the available wrist support will not solve this.

52

Figure 10: Force Exertion

53

Appendix L: Patents US Pat. 4613179 - Filed Feb 13, 1985 US Pat. 5795004 - Filed Aug 8, 1997 Hand-held gripping device with improved support for handi- Hand held device for elevating objects A device for scooping or grasping an object on the floor and capped persons The invention is an improved gripping device for use by handicapped persons. The gripping device consists of double acting jaws that grips the item to be picked up or lifted, a forward arm section, a rearward arm section, and a control mechanism to control the gripping action of the double acting jaws and the hinge action between the forward arm section and the rearward arm section. The device can be operated with one hand. It can also be operated from a wheel chair.

54

then lift it to hand level. This device is primarily for use by a person who cannot bend to pick up an object from the floor. An extendable/retractable lazy tong assembly is connected at one end to an extension on a cane-like member and at the other to a scoop assembly. The scoop includes two hinged halves that move apart. are placed around an object. are moved together to scoop up the object. By pressing the cane extension against the floor. the lazy tongs are caused to rotate and extend. lifting and moving the scoop to within reach of the user’s hands without requiring the user to bend over. The scoop can also include pinch bars for pinching. then lifting. a flexible sheet. such as paper or cloth. A thin bar may be provided on the scoop for insertion into items such as key rings or necklaces to lift them to the user’s hand level.

US Pat. 4441746 - Filed Jan 4, 1982 Tool for retrieving out-of-reach objects

A manually operated, hand held pick up tool or dropped object retrieving device includes an elongated rigid tube having at one end a jaw assembly which includes two movable jaw pieces and two linkage pieces and at the opposite end a handle assembly. The jaw pieces pivot about a pivot bolt attached to the rigid tube. The movable jaw pieces are caused to approach each other in a symmetrical fashion and come into apposition when a sliding handle piece in the handle assembly is squeezed and brought toward a fixed handle in the handle assembly. A centrally placed connecting rod running longitudinally within the rigid tube couples the sliding handle to the linkage pieces of the jaw assembly. A compression spring positioned around the connecting rod within the rigid tube normally maintains the movable jaw pieces in the open position. A magnet is attached to one of the jaw pieces so as to allow retrieval of magnetic metal objects. Soft tips are placed on the ends of the jaws to improve gripping ability of the jaws and also to prevent scratching of the retrieved objects.

US Pat. 5289767 - Filed Aug 21, 1992 Method and apparatus for guiding an elongated generally cylindrical member An elongate shaft has a support plate cooperative with bifurcated legs to secure a can therebetween, with the legs operative through an actuator handle mounted at an upper end of the shaft structure to include a pistol handle having a cable directed throughout the shaft to effect selective movement of the legs permitting the grasping of a workpiece between the legs.

55

US Pat. 4758035 - Filed Apr 24, 1987 Self-gripping reacher

A gripping and reaching device for persons with wrist or grip disabilities comprising a one-piece forearm brace which pivotally mounts an axially aligned extension arm having a pair of opposed object engaging gripping elements at its end. The gripper elements are brought into initial contact with the object located therebetween by hand operation of a trigger mounted to the brace. Upon lifting of the object, the gripping elements are further tightened about the object by a cable linkage which is tensioned in response to pivotal movement of the extension arm with a force corresponding to the weight of the object.

56

US Pat. 4613179 - Filed Feb 13, 1985 Hand-held gripping device with improved support for handicapped persons. An improvement to a gripping device for handicapped persons provides a three-point lateral restraint. The structure for accomplishing this restraint includes a thumb support element, a wrist brace element and an arm support element. These respective elements may be quickly mounted on either side of the device, thereby enabling the device to be used by either right-handed or left-handed persons. A lanyard including a noose is also provided to faciliate convenient manipulation of the gripping device by the free hand of the user. A toggle mechanism includes an over-the-center spring for controlling a pair of gripping tongs.

US Pat. 5669646 - Filed Nov 12, 1996 Device for positioning and retrieving golf balls and tees The present invention relates to a golf ball and tee positioning device which includes a gripper disposed at one end of an elongated shaft for manipulating golf balls and a tee inserter disposed at the other end of the shaft for inserting a tee into the ground. The tee inserter includes a rod extending from the shaft, a barrel slideably disposed on the rod, and a pair of spring biased jaws pivotably attached to the barrel. Each jaw member has a mandible portion which extends into a slot fonned in the barrel for engaging a tee located within the barrel. The tee is inserted into the ground by placing the tee inserter against the ground and pressing the rod into the barrel so that it engages the head of the tee. This forces the tee past the spring biased jaws, setting the tee into the ground.

US Pat. 3146015 - Filed Jul 6, 1962 Material Handlin Implement

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in material handling implements, and the principal object of the invention is to provide an improved, hand manipulated implement or device which may be conveniently and effectively employed for picking up various objects from the ground or fioor, without the necessity of stooping or bending over. This object is attained by the provision of a pick-up device which includes an elongated handle having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw at one end thereof with resilient means biasing the movable jaw away from the fixed jaw, and a hand actuated trigger at the other end of the ha.”ldle, operatively connected to the movable jaw for moving the latter toward the fixed jaw so that an object to be picked up is received there between. Although the pick-up device in accordance with the invention has utility in various different environments, it is particularly intended for use in and around the home for picking up debris off the fioor, litter from driveways and sidewalks, stones from gardens and the like.

57

Unsuccessful Can hold it but not stable

250

200

Below are the results of the tests with the existing reachers attempting to grasp and hold objects representing the selected basic shapes. With both the “EZ Reacher” and the “Helping Hand” reacher the objects were attempted to grasp and hold. An attempt is noted successful is the object can be grasped, lifted and held in the gripper for 10 seconds. If an object is lifted but is held very unstable the attempt is noted as unsuccessful. EZ reacher

Unsuccessful Successful Not enough force

Appendix M: Results Testing of Reachers

58

Successful

50

0

10

50

0

10

80

120

80 200 30

0

300

Unsuccessful Book slips away

250

110

Unsuccessful Successful Not enough force/ grip to lift the pan

Successful

45

0

27 30

0

20

59

3.6.7. Give to somebody else to use

3.6.6. Try to move something heavy (furniture) with the gripper

3.6.5. Expose to streaming water

3.6.4. Support entire weight of the user on it

3.6.3. Forget to charge

4.1. Throw away

ocess Tree.mmap - 11-11-2009 - Mindjet

4.6. Burn

4.5. Recycle

4.4. Sort Parts

4.3. Dismantle

4.2. Transport

3.5.2.3. With detergent

3.5.2.2. With water

3.5.2.1. With tissue

3.6.2. Hit something with it

3.6.1. Drop

3.5.3. Repair

3.5.2. Clean

3.5.1. Change batteries

3.4.2. Put in charger

3.6. Improper Use

4. End of Life

3.3.4. Grab things at guest's house 3.4.1. Leave anywhere in the house

3.5. Maintenance

3.4.

3.3.2.3.2 Stand in puddle

3.3.2.3.1 From rainfall

3.3.2.2.3 Bubble gum

3.3.2.2.2 Dog poop

3.3.2.2.1 Sand and dirt

3.3.1.5.2 Use with dirty hands

3.3.1.5.1 Use with wet hands

3.3.2.4. Be seen by people on the street

3.3.2.3. Get wet

3.3.2.2. Get dirty

3.3.2.1. [use as walking stick]

3.3.1.5. Use during cooking

3.3.1.4. Return object to a high or low location

3.3.3. Grab things in a shop

3.3.2. Outside

3.3.1.1.7 Release object and take it in hand

3.3.1.1.6 Bring object to hand

3.3.1.1.5 Bring object down

3.3.1.1.4 Grab object

3.3.1.1.3 Reach for object (listed objects from listed areas)

3.3.1.1.2 Open cupboard

3.3.1.1.1 Bring product to the location of use

3.3.1.3. Grab something from seating area while seated

3.3.1.2. Grab low object

3.3.1.1. Grab high object

3.2.5.2. Try controls

80

3.3.1. At home

3.2.7. Carry product

3.2.6. Try to grab object

3.2.5. Take in hand

3.2.5.1. Feel weight

3.2.3.2. Position charging station

3.2.3.1. Place batteries

3.1.2.2. Carry in hand

3.1.2.1. Transport by car

3.2.4. Charge batteries

3.2.3. Install

3.2.2. Understand

3.2.1. Unpack

3.1.2. Transport

3.1.1. Buy

2.5.4. Test

2.5.3. Advise

2.5.2. Expose

2.5.1. Advertise

1.2.2.3. Assemble

1.2.2.2. Order parts

1.2.2.1. Production of parts

120

Unsuccessful

80

Successful

Reach for stacked/piled object (plates)

Reach for object standing close to other objects (books)

200

Successful

0

3.3. Daily use

3.2. First use

3.1. Acquire

2.5. Sell

2.4. Store

2.3. Transport

1.2.3. Test

1.2.2. Production

1.2.1. Adjust for production

1.1.3. Test prototype

1.1.2. Prototype

1.1.1. Design

0

1.1. Develop product

27

2.2. Pack

0 10

3. Use

20 30 2.1. Set price

0 50

1.2. Produce

30 300

250

Unsuccessful

0 10

Unsuccessful

200

Unsuccessful

50

250

Life Cycle

60 110

Unsuccessful

45

2. Distribution

1. Creation

Successful

Helping Hand reacher

Appendix N: Life Cycle Analysis

61

Criteria

62 Wishes The product should be able to stand up straight stable The product must bring the object as close to the hands as possible The weight of the product must be as light as possible The product must have an association with an luxurious, stylish walking stick and not with existing reachers and crutches. The force on the user must be as small as possible The amount of controls must be limited The controls must be easy to understand The time the user is excerting force must be as short as possible Users should not feel as if they are tied to the product. It should be more of a tool than a prothesis The product must visually appeal to the target group Locations where dirt is difficult to clean has to be kept to a minimum Storing the product must take as little space as possible The amount of neccesary fince motoric actions must be limited The centre of gravity must be located as close to the handle(s) as possible

Recyclable parts must be removable from non‐recyclable parts using regular tools

The packed product must fit in a regular car The packed product must be portable by one person The packaging must be made of recyclable materials It must be clear how the product must be used without reading a manual Preparing the product for first use must be possible without the use of tools It must be possible to charge the batteries without taking the product apart Position charging station Installing the charging station must be possible without the use of tools Charge batteries The state of the battery must be visible Try controls The use of the controls must be clear at first use Carry product to the working location It must be possible to relocate the product from one room in the house to another by one person No elements on the product must be in the way of the user wile walking with the product The gripper element must not touch the ground when walking outside The product must withstand the force expressed by a person of 95kg (P95 elderly Dutch men) while leaning on it as a walking stick Daily use Using the product 10 times in a row should not exceed the comfortable endurance time for 90% of the elderly population It must be possible to operate the gripper for left‐ and right handed people It must be possible to use the product with one hand (for light objects) The product must be able to operate for 3 consecutive days with 50 open and closing cycles per day without the need of recharging. At home It must be possible to use the product on the floor without damaging the floor Open Cupboard It must be possible to hold the product in one hand (while the user performs other tasks) Reach for object (listed objects from listThe product must be able to reach the [selected locations] The gripper must approach the product in a horizontal position Reach for object that is positioned closeThe position of the fingers of the gripper must be controlled gradually Grab object The gripper must be able to perform an open and close cycle within 1 second The rotation of the gripper must be able to change 90 degrees to both sides Bring object down The user must be able to take the object in his hand within 5 seconds after grasping The weight of the product with an object in the gripper must not be experienced as uncomfortable by the P5 (strenght) The object must not be lifted right above the head of the user Objects must be held in the gripper without the user needing to express force on a switch The orientation of the grasped object must remain the same when it is brought to the user’s hands The product must bring the object to the direct reach of the hands Bring object to hand The gripper must not be able to injure or pinch the user Release object and take it in hand It must be possible to control the gripper with one hand while the other hand takes the object from the gripper Grab low object The gripper must be able to grab and hold the objects from the [list] without damaging them Grab something from seating area whileIt must be possible to use the product while seated Use during cooking The product must be storable within direct reach of the user while standing in a the kitchen Store Storing the product must take as little space as possible, not more than storing a ladder Put in charger It must be possible to place the product in the charger from a standing position without bending Change batteries The batteries must be removable without the use of tools With water The product must be resistant to cleaning it with a wet cloth (IP x4) Repair The product must be able to be used daily for at least 10 years without big maintenance Drop The product must withstand a fall from 1.5 meters on a stone floor Support entire weight of the user on it The product must withstand the force expressed by a person of 95Kg (P95 elderly Dutch men) when used as a support Give to somebody else to use The product must be adjustable to any user without the use of tools

It must be possible to stack the packed product on a pallet

Store Transport by car Carry in hand Unpack Understand Install

The product must have a cost price not higher than [...]

Production

3.3.1.1.6 3.3.1.1.7 3.3.1.2 3.3.1.3 3.3.1.5 3.4 3.4.2 3.5.1 3.5.2.2 3.5.3 3.6.1 3.6.4 3.6.7 4 End of Life 4.3 Dismantle

3.3.1.1.5

3.3.1.1.3.1 3.3.1.1.4

3.3.1 3.3.1.1.2 3.3.1.1.3

3.3

3.2.3.2 3.2.4 3.2.5.2 3.2.7

1 Creation 1.2.2 2 Distribution 2.4 3 Use 3.1.2.1 3.1.2.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3

Appendix O: Programme of Requirements

63

Appendix P: Possible Locations of Handle

64

65

66

67

68

69

Appendix Q: Creative Session 9:45- 10:05 Ice breaker (name, age, country, study, one thing you love, one thing you hate and one thing you really wish) Energizer: spelling of names 10:10 -10:30 Explanation of problem boundaries (show video, and provide info) 10:30-11:30 how can elderly use the robot gripper? - everyone has a stack of post its and writes an idea related to elderly, they divide the big paper and swap places - the same with robot gripper - then replace the words in the question (ABSURD questioning) - make a list of 10 questions - force fit to get a solution - choose the best 3 or more - 11:30- 11:45 Break. Throwing imaginary things. In pairs they have to guess. 11:45- 12:45 How to reach high/low things/places? - 2 lists of animals. Each writes an animal they like and an animal they don’t like. - In the center a column of high/low things/places or - Randomly force fit to the previous solutions: If I was a spider I would… - Make 12 of them, 2 each - Choose the best 4 analogies to get inspired for a design What are possible applications for gripper What can you do with a Lacquey robot for elderly? How can you prevent elderly to fall at home? How can you assist elderly to carry things? 70

71

72

73

Energy

Structural layout

Roll

Product on location

Carry part of product

Pushing buttons

Rolling button

Joystick

Sliding / Tilting button

Touch Pad

Position of handles

Pressing force

Pushing buttons

Rolling button

Joystick


Touch Pad

Position of handles

Pressing force

Remote

Rotate whole product

Camera/ Display

Mirrors

Lift user

Fold

Slide

Lift

Rail

Zig Zag

Flexibe

On the floor

On shelf

Support on body

Support on arms

Place object on surface

Product on ground

Rechargeable battery

Pneumatic

Spring

Line power

Human power leg


Pneumatic

Line power

Human power leg

Same as main power

Energy for opening and closing gripper

Carry

Energy for moving gripper up and down

Brake handle

Place object in gripper/ get object from gripper

Brake handle

Support product

By hand (In advance)

Move gripper from hand to location and back

From point of view

See location

Telescopic

Rotate gripper (Horizontal vertical)

Only In hands

Control position of gripper

Hold with one hand

Control opening and closing of gripper

Human power hand

Get product on right location

Human power hand

74

Control and use

Appendix R: Morphological Chart 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

75

only In hands

On shelf

Support on arms

Support on body

Battery

Human power leg

Spring

Pneumatic

Line power

Slide

Fold

Flexible

Zig Zag

Rail

Product on location

Roll

Carry

Carry part of product

Product on location

Pressing force

Rolling button

Pushing buttons

Joystick

Pressing force Pressing force

Position of handles

Rolling button Touch Pad

Touch Pad

Pushing buttons Brake handle

Line power

Sliding /Tilting button

Joystick Rolling button

Pneumatic


Brake handle

Position of handles Pushing buttons

Carry part of product Mirrors Human power leg


Roll Camera/ Display


The most important factor for this control is that it has to be gradual. Also, without looking at the gripper, there should be some feedback about the position of the fingers. A bicycle brake-like handle gives this feedback if the position of the gripper fingers are related to the position of the handle. The same is true vor a sliding and tilting button. Pressing buttons, a rolling button and pressing force lack the ability of such direct feedback and therefore considered second choice,

Touch Pad

76


Joystick



Hold with one hand


Brake handle

Battery


The product must be usable everywhere in the house so a fixed or partially fixed product is not a good option. Carrying the product has the preference among rolling since that would make it more easy to move the product around the house, on stairs and outside of the house. This does mean, however that the product will have to be light enough to be carried. If the product is rolled, more weight is allowed.


Carry Remote



Sliding / Sliding / Human Tilting button Tilting button power hand


Product on ground

See location

From point of view


The complete chart has thousands of possible combinations. To reduce the amount of solutions to a workable number, each row is evaluated. The components of each row are evaluated with the preliminary programme of requirements. The components are sorted according to their preference. The more to the right the less preferred they are. Gray components are considered less preferable or secondary choice. Lift

On the floor Human power hand


Appendix S: Analysis of Rows

Telescopic


Position of handles

General layout

Support product

77


From his point of view a P5 person is still able to see an object with a height of 20cm on the upper shelf. The top of the cupboard is more difficult to see. This would be a main concession for the shorter users. A P95 user is able to see upper shelf without an issue. Also the top of cupboard is not a problem, objects even objects with a height of 15cm are visible for him.

Pressing force

Touch Pad

Brake handle

Rolling button

Pushing buttons

Joystick



Position of handles

A similar controller for going up and down and opening closing could make the controls confusing. The two controls should therefore be completely different or integrated into one controller.

Rotate gripper (For horizontal/ vertical objects)


Remote

Rotate gripper (For horizontal/ vertical objects)


It would be better to be flexible and not needing to set the orientation of the gripper beforehand. Although making this rotation remotely controlled would add another controller and actuator. Both of these options are interesting to investigate. Rotating the whole product would also mean that the handles will change their position meaning the user will have to change his posture. This makes the latter option not preferred.

P5

P95

78

Lift user

Mirrors

See location

Camera/ Display

The product is meant to prevent the user from standing on elevations. The component “lifting the user” is therefore least preferable. A camera and display would add more weight and controls to the product and make it more expensive but can increase the visibility for a great deal. Mirrors would need alignment and the visibility through the mirrors is still unsure but it could be a cheap and lightweight solution. Looking at the object from the point of view of the user is the simplest option

From point of view

See location of the object

79

Line power

Pneumatic

Spring

Human power leg



Human power hand

Human power from hand or leg: can make the product lighter because no strong motor and battery is needed for the lifting of the gripper. If using hand power, the challenge is to keep the forces on the user small. If the leg is used, stability of the user will be an important issue. Using line power is not preferred since it limits the locations where the product can be used. Pneumatics would require a lot of volume

Energy for opening and closing grippe

Line power

Pneumatic

Human power leg


Human power hand

The DBL gripper as it is now already works on electric power. Using human power is possible but the force exertion remains a problem. It should be possible to hold an object in the gripper without the user needing to keep expressing force Line power and pneumatics are not preferred for the same reasons as in the previous parameter. Rechargeable battery

Support on body

Support on arms

On shelf

only In hands

On the floor

The force on the user should be as small as possible, several options of supporting the product are examined. The aim is to make the product less of a prothesis but more of a handy tool. Having a product that supports on the body parts could add to the experience of a prothesis. Support on the ground seems a good option, it can be used anywhere and noes not necessarily makes the product bigger. Support on shelf is an interesting option, especially for accurate positioning of the gripper but can be tricky if the shelf is not completely fixed.

80



Hold with one hand

It would be best to get the object form a fixed product. This would eliminate high forces on the user while grabbing the object but requires the product to be able to stand stable without the user having to hold it. The second option is grabbing the object while holding the product with one hand. The main challenge here is to keep the forces of the user low while holding the product with one hand. Placing the object on surface first and taking it in the hand after this, requires unnecessary longer sequence times


Hold Product in place

Hold Product in place


Lift

Rail

Zig Zag

Flexibe

Fold

Slide


Telescopic

Moving in a linear way (slide and telescopic) seems better because it will be easier to keep the gripper in the same orientation compared to folding. Folding and Flexible would result in more swinging motions, needing more place and a more complex systems to keep the object and gripper at the same orientation while bringing it up or down. Lifting the whole product would require more force from the user and will also make it more difficult to keep the arms close to the body (for more comfortable force exertion) The rail system is not an elongation and will require a big product. A “Zigzag” bar mechanism seems not so safe as fingers can get between the bars

Product on ground


81

Configuration 1

Appendix T: Ideas per Configuration

General layout Support product

On shelf




Human power arm

Fold

Carry

See location


From point of Place product view and place/ take object from it


Remote



Rechargeable Brake handle battery


Position of handles

Moving handles up and down moves the gripper

An extra part is attached to the shelf Less load on the user

82

Moving handles up and down moves the gripper

83

Configuration 2 General layout Support product

Static element on ground and attached to shelf

For getting the gripper down, the tube moves inside the handle


On the floor Human power arm



Telescopic

Carry

See location





From point of Hold product By hand (In Rechargeable Brake handle view with one hand, advance) battery grab object with other


Position of handles

Product extends to the ground for extra support

Moving element with gripper, can also be used separately

84

Optional part for extra support

85



On the floor Rechargeable battery



See location





Telescopic

Roll

Camera/ display

Place product and place/ take object from it

Remote


Touch pad


Touch pad

Lightweight telescopic products

Large product: more difficult to relocate and store

Display

Touchpads for opening/closing and bringing gripper up and down

Display moves up and down with gripper

No human power so large battery needed 86

87



Only in hands Human power arm

88



Slide

Carry

See location





From point of Hold product By hand (In Rechargeable Brake handle view with one hand, advance) battery grab object with other

To be able to reach to all places the size of the walking stick is not sufficient. ==> the walking stick needs to be extended for the use as gripper


Position of handles

Under an angle makes it easier to reach for objects and requires less force The arms are lifted less high and in a more natural way (right image)

89

Different configurations for a sliding extension

bring the object closer to the hands before taking it in the hand reduces the forces and males it easier to take the object from the reacher. 90

91



On the floor Human power leg



See location



Telescopic

Carry

Camera/ display

Place product and place/ take object from it

Remote




Rechargeable Brake handle Tilt and slide battery button

Camera in gripper

Handle for opening and closing gripper

Product stands on floor, less load for the user

92

Foot pedal for bringing gripper up and down

93

Camera above gripper

Opening and closing gripper

Tilting top part for reaching inside cupboards

Stable tripod at bottom with foot pedal

Tilting top part for reaching inside cupboards

Foot pedal for bringing gripper up and down 94

95

Appendix U: Experienced Weight & Support Introduction

The calculated user forces when holding an object of 1,2kg are:

As found in earlier experiments with existing reachers, the force needed to hold an existing reacher with an object of 1,2Kg is experienced as extremely uncomfortable. It is clear that the product must not cause these discomforts and a solution must be found.

30N for a reacher without support 5N for a reacher with support in the form of a single bar on the ground

To explore how big the portion of the target group is that experiences this discomfort and how much a support on the ground can solve this problem the following studies have been executed.

Literature

There are several rules of thumb on how much force exertion is allowed in consumer products. Most of them are expressed as a percentage of the maximum force the user can exert [Steenbekkers & van Behterveld 1993]. • For short periods: 1/3 of the maximum force is allowed • For longer periods and daily use: 10 % of maximum force is allowed For elderly the following maximum forces are know [Thompson (1975)] P5 : Max force around 30N

The graph below illustrates how the forces of these two configurations fit within the two rules of thumb for the P5 (strength) of the target group.

P50: Max force around 150N

Applying the rules of thumb to these maximum forces we find:

96

1/3 of max

10% of max

P5

10N

3N

P50

50N

15N

97

Results

As can be seen the 25N completely exceeds the forces allowed by the “10% of the maximum force” rule for the entire target group (up to P95). For the “1/3 of the maximum force” rule the 25N still exceeds the limit for large portion of the target group, up to P20.

The table with the data of the results and the photographs of the testing can be found in Appendix V. Overall the experiments confirm the findings based on the literature and calculations, lifting the weight of 1,2Kg on a reacher without any support is not comfortable and experienced as very heavy.

The 5N needed to hold the reacher with a support is in a much safer zone for both the rules of thumb. For the “1/3 of the maximum force” the 5N does not exclude any users above P5. For the “10% of the maximum force” a small portion of the weaker users is excluded (up to P8) From the calculations and the rules of thumbs from the literature it can be concluded that the regular reacher without support causes forces that are unacceptable and the force would have to become much smaller to be in the acceptable range. Using a support on the ground decreases the needed forces and brings them to an acceptable level for a large portion of the target group.

Without any support the comfort limit seems to be somewhere between lifting 600g and 800g. Although one subject already marked 300g as slightly uncomfortable. For the tube that represents the reacher three layouts have been made. Layout 3 is the construction with a support on the ground.

Using a support on the ground gives a strong feeling of stability. The weight on the end of the reacher does not seem to matter. With the support 1200 grams and more can be held up without any problem by all subjects. The weight of the tool itself has not been taken into account. Adding the weight of the tool and the gripper itself leaves even less weight for the product to be used comfortably.

Experiments

To verify the findings from the literature and calculations an experiment is set up to test the comfortable forces and the influence of a support on the ground.

Conclusion

Setup

To be able to use the product comfortably when grabbing the required objects, that have a weight limit of 1,2Kg a support on the ground is required.

A testing construction is created consisting of:

The support is not required for all objects, weights up to about 600g to 800g can be held comfortably without a support. Also the comfort limit is very depending on the user.

• An aluminium tube with a hook at the tip representing the reacher • An aluminium basket representing the grasped object

Layout 1, Layout 2, Layout 3 The basket allows different weights to be added. For the user tests the following total weights have been used: 200g, 300g, 600g, 800g, 1200g.

Tasks

The tests were executed at the homes of the subjects. The basket was placed on a shelf that is out of reach for the user, filled with the desired weights.

Considering the above, the support on the ground is essential but not needed for all objects. Therefore if should be applied as an optional feature and not be present all the time. An important observation during the test is that apart from comfort, the confidence that the user will be able to keep hold of the weight plays an important role in the experience. The user must feel sure that he will not drop the reacher together with the grasped object. The support on the ground proved to add to this confidence. When held with the support the users expressed much confidence about being able not to drop the product, even for the most heavy objects.

The subject was given the task to pick up the basket, bring it down and take it in the hands. The reverse tasked was also performed, lifting the basket to the high location and placing it on the shelf. During these tasks the subjects were asked for their experience of the weight. The main question was if the weight was experienced as comfortable enough to be used on a daily basis.

98

99

Appendix V: Results weight testing Weight in g Layout 1

Layout 2

Layout 3

100

Subject 1

Subject 2

Subject 3

Subject 4

200 Not heavy, comfortable

No problem at all

No problem at all

300 Also comfortable

Already agains the limit zone

Also no problem at all

600 Clearly more heavy but not annoying After two cycles starts to feel load on wrist. Visible tremor on the hands

Also against the limit zone

Still ok but notably more heavy

No problem, even with one hand Possible but slightly unfomfortable Not comfortable, but possible to do if needed

800 Clearly more heavy. Feels wrists after use. Listing up is very heavy. Tremor after few seconds of use

Not comfortable anymore. Feels like limit of comfort zone Very heavy, not acceptable Insecure, feels aslif can drop it any moment. Would rather stand on ladder.

1200 Would not use if it was so Absolutely unacceptable heavy. Clearly not comfortable. Would rater take it from ladder. 800 Reasonably comfortable

Absolutely not comfortable

Very heavy, absolutely unacceptable

Feels lighter thab layout 1 but still not very comfotable

1200 Feels much more comfortable Feels lighter than layout 1 but Feels lighter but compared to layout 1, less still not acceptable uncomfortable to hold and heavy but difficult to keep balance palanced 1200 Not heavy at all. Feels like the Feels very stable and light Very light "all the weight is weight is on the ground and supported by the ground, you not in the hands. Lifting it a can add as much weight as little bit is heavy. you want"

Feels more heavy than Layout 1. Causes instant pain in the back Very light. Only need to keep the balance of the reacher a little bit. Once the support is lifted from the ground it is very heavy. Tremor is visible.

101

Layout 1

102

Layout 2

Layout 3

Layout 1

Layout 2

Layout 3

103

Appendix W: Damper Calculations

0,8 0,7

v1 d

g 1 t

C

ud

C1 m1

g

g 1 t

C

18 ln 3 245

(12)

0,5 0,4

C2

plot

m2

0,6

C22

(1)

C1 1 C m1 t v2 d

g m2 m2 ln m2

g

0,3

3

(2)

C2 1 C m2 t

s1, s2, 0.9 , t = 0 ..4

0,2

s1 d v1 dt g m1 t C1

K

0,1

g m21 ln m1 CC1 t

(3)

C21

2

0

s2 d v2 dt Cu g m2 t C2

g d 10

K

g m22 ln m2 CC2 t C22

Cu

(5)

1

(6)

3

(7)

m1 d 1 m2 d 3 C1 d 35 35

(8)

35

(9)

18 6 tK ln 3 C35 t Cu = 0 245 7

(10)

18 6 tC ln 3 C35 t 245 7

(11)

C2 d 35

2

t

3

4

5

q1 d s1 = 0.9

(4)

10

1

2 2 tK ln 1 C35 t = 0.9 7 245

(13)

6 18 18 tK ln 3 C35 t C ln 3 = 0.9 7 245 245

(14)

3.285817755

(15)

1.287779437

(16)

q2 d s2 = 0.9

1

fsolve q1 fsolve q2

0

0

1

2 t

3

4

w d s2 = 0

h d solve w, u

K

104

plot

v1, v2 , t = 0 ..5

105

Appendix X: Motor Calculations s d 0.9

0.9

(1)

5

(2)

30

(3)

0.02

(4)

171.9745222 R

(5)

td5 f d 30 d d 0.02 md

yd

s$60$R t$d$3.14 f$d 2R

h d m$y

0.3000000000 R

(6)

51.59235666

(7)

expand m

expand y pw d

m$y$2 $3.1415 60

qm d 0.80

50

(8)

8598.726110

(9)

0.006000000000

(10)

5.402579617

(11)

0.80

(12)

0.50

(13)

13.50644904

(14)

qw d 0.50 pw

plot m, y, R = 40 ..80

qm$qw

0,007

0,006 [nm] 0,005

0,004 7000

8000

9000

10000 11000 [rpm]

12000

13000

R d 50

106

107

Appendix Y: Wrist Support Variations

108

109

Appendix Z: Power Use calculations Sliding 0,9 8230 50 0,02 3

0,17228 5,22401 0,3 0,006

Gripping

m length of bar 1/min 137,1667 1/s motor speed hear ratio m diam of wheel on bar kg weight moving element

m/s s Nm Nm

speed of slide time of slide on wormwheel on motor

1,08 100 3 5,224013

A max continuous current times per day (50 cycles up and down) days length of one time

1567,204 total seconds 0,435334 hours 0,470161 Ah

Amount of days Cycles per day Time needed to close Time needed to open Time sliding up/down

ampere closing ampere opening ampere stall

3 days 50 cycles 1s 1s 5s

0,3 A 0,3 A 1,8 A

Max amoun Total 3 days 150 s 150 s 750 s

Total 3 days 45 As 45 As 1350 As 1440 As 0,4 Ah 400 mAh

2x 3,7V 2*46g 4x AA 30gx4

110

weight 0,092 Kg 0,12 Kg

2500 mAh 2500 mAh

Li‐ion NiMH

111

Appendix AA: Costing Estimation Capacitor as power supply? 3 days and 50 cycles per day (as in PoR) needs at least 0,4 Ah 0,4 Ah x 3600s =1440 Coulomb 1440C/24V = 60F needed Available: RES250333

25v .033F

[http://www.evanscap.com/capattery_pricing.htm] 25V*0.033F=0,825C 0,825C/3600s=0,23mAh This is not enough even for 1 cycle, requiring about 0,89 mAh this is also disregarding the price of more than $300 each, also for large quantities

Costing Reacher Costing Material costs ABS Main housing Main switch Slide switch Wrist support Charger housing End stop Gripper connection housing Gripper connection button Gripper connection to tube Ground support connection Total ABS weight [Kg] Costs ABS total Costs ABS per unit Aluminium 6061 Ring (2x) Brace Motor suspension Main tube Support tube top Support tube bottom Total weight Aluminium [Kg] Costs Aluminium total Costs Aluminium per unit Total material costs per unit

112

Production Costs

Series volume Kg

10000

100000

0,180 0,005 0,001 0,100 0,200 0,020 0,050 0,010 0,030 0,090 0,686

0,010 0,003 0,010 0,380 0,200 0,180 0,783

6860 68600 € 13.925,80 € 102.900,00 € 1,39 € 1,03

7830 78300 € 23.255,10 € 232.551,00 € 2,33 € 2,33 € 3,72 € 3,35

Hours

10000

100000

€ 3.600,00 € 3.375,00 € 3.375,00 € 1.350,00 € 4.500,00 € 1.575,00 € 3.600,00 € 3.600,00 € 1.575,00 € 3.600,00 € 30.150,00 € 3,02

€ 18.000,00 € 9.000,00 € 9.000,00 € 11.250,00 € 40.500,00 € 13.500,00 € 18.000,00 € 9.000,00 € 13.500,00 € 18.000,00 € 159.750,00 € 1,60

95 80 80

120 € 4.275,00 100 € 3.600,00 100 € 3.600,00 € 11.475,00 € 1,15

€ 5.400,00 € 4.500,00 € 4.500,00 € 14.400,00 € 0,14

30 30 30

300 € 600,00 € 6.000,00 300 € 600,00 € 6.000,00 300 € 600,00 € 6.000,00 € 1.800,00 € 18.000,00 € 0,18 € 0,18 € 4,34 € 1,92

Injection moulding small series large series Main housing 80 400 Main switch 75 200 Slide switch 75 200 Wrist support 30 250 Charger housing 100 900 End stop 35 300 Gripper connection housing 80 400 Gripper connection button 80 200 Gripper connection to tube 35 300 Ground support connection 80 400 Total costs injection moulding Costs injection moulding per unit Die cast moulding Ring (2x) Brace Motor suspension Total costs die casting Costs die cast moulding per unit Extrusion Main tube Support upper tube Support lower tube Total costs extrusion Costs extrusion per unit Total production costs per unit

113

10000

100000

Injection moulds Main housing Main switch Slide switch Wrist support Charger housing End stop Gripper connection housing Gripper connection button Gripper connection to tube Ground support connection Total injection moulds Total injection moulds

Tooling Costs

€ 15.000,00 € 6.000,00 € 6.000,00 € 10.000,00 € 35.000,00 € 10.000,00 € 12.000,00 € 6.000,00 € 10.000,00 € 12.000,00 € 122.000,00 € 12,20

€ 30.000,00 € 15.000,00 € 15.000,00 € 20.000,00 € 45.000,00 € 13.000,00 € 25.000,00 € 15.000,00 € 13.000,00 € 25.000,00 € 216.000,00 € 2,16

Die cast moulds Ring (2x) Brace Motor suspension Total die casting Total die casting per unit

€ 4.000,00 € 3.000,00 € 3.000,00 € 10.000,00 € 1,00

€ 7.000,00 € 6.500,00 € 6.500,00 € 20.000,00 € 0,20

Extrusion mould Main tube Support upper tube Support lower tube Total extruding Total extruding per unit Total tooling costs per unit

€ 2.000,00 € 1.500,00 € 1.500,00 € 5.000,00 € 0,50 € 13,70

€ 2.000,00 € 1.500,00 € 1.500,00 € 5.000,00 € 0,05 € 2,41

Purchase components

114

Batteries Motor for sliding Worm gear Worm Smart charger PCB Sliding contacts Springs Total purchase components per unit

€ 5,00 € 5,00 € 0,80 € 0,80 € 3,00 € 0,30 € 0,04 € 0,04 € 14,98

€ 3,00 € 3,00 € 0,50 € 0,50 € 1,00 € 0,20 € 0,01 € 0,01 € 8,22

Total Direct costs reacher

€ 36,74 € 15,91

Total Direct costs gripper

€ 26,38 € 9,58

Total Direct costs product

€ 63,12 € 25,49

Used prices

€/Kg, €/Hr

ABS < 4500Kg ABS < 45000Kg Aluminium 6061 PA <4500Kg Average machine hour rate:

€ 2,03 € 1,50 € 2,97 € 2,70 € 45,00

Costing Gripper Material Costs ABS 1101_Proximal_Phalanx 1103_Proximal_Phalanx_Back 1105_Distal_Phalanx1 1206_Motorsupport1 (left) 1206_Motorsupport1 (right) 1207_Motorsupport2 (left) 1207_Motorsupport2 (right) Total weight ABS [Kg] Total costs ABS Costs ABS per unit PA 1108_Cantilever Motor housing Total weight PA [Kg] Total costs PA Costs PA per unit Total material costs per unit

Production Costs Injection moulding 1101_Proximal_Phalanx 1103_Proximal_Phalanx_Back 1105_Distal_Phalanx1 1206_Motorsupport1 (left) 1206_Motorsupport1 (right) 1207_Motorsupport2 (left) 1207_Motorsupport2 (right) 1108_Cantilever Motor housing Total injection moulding Total injection moulding per unit Total production costs per unit

Tooling Costs

Kg

# per unit Kg per unit

0,003 0,003 0,004 0,030 0,030 0,006 0,006

3 3 3 1 1 1 1

0,002 0,002

3 1

0,010 0,008 0,011 0,030 0,030 0,006 0,006 0,103

0,006 0,002 0,008

# per unit 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 3 1

85 85 85 80 80 80 80 85 40

400 400 400 380 380 380 380 400 250

10000

100000

1026 10264 € 2.083,62 € 15.396,23 € 0,21 € 0,15

Injection moulds 1101_Proximal_Phalanx 1103_Proximal_Phalanx_Back 1105_Distal_Phalanx1 1206_Motorsupport1 (left) 1206_Motorsupport1 (right) 1207_Motorsupport2 (left) 1207_Motorsupport2 (right) 1108_Cantilever Motor housing Total injection moulding Total injection moulding per unit Total tooling costs per unit

Purchase components 80 800 € 216,00 € 2.160,00 € 0,02 € 0,02 € 0,23 € 0,18

10000

100000

€ 3.825,00 € 3.825,00 € 3.825,00 € 3.600,00 € 3.600,00 € 3.600,00 € 3.600,00 € 3.825,00 € 1.800,00 € 31.500,00 € 3,15 € 3,15

€ 18.000,00 € 18.000,00 € 18.000,00 € 17.100,00 € 17.100,00 € 17.100,00 € 17.100,00 € 18.000,00 € 11.250,00 € 151.650,00 € 1,52 € 1,52

# per unit 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 3 1

# per unit

10000

100000

€ 10.000,00 € 10.000,00 € 10.000,00 € 15.000,00 € 15.000,00 € 15.000,00 € 15.000,00 € 10.000,00 € 8.000,00 € 108.000,00 € 10,80 € 10,80

€ 18.000,00 € 18.000,00 € 18.000,00 € 30.000,00 € 30.000,00 € 30.000,00 € 30.000,00 € 18.000,00 € 12.000,00 € 204.000,00 € 2,04 € 2,04

10000

100000

Belts 2 Gear z=15 (PA) 3 Bevel gears (PA) 3 Belt wheels (PA) 3 Bolts 36 Motor 3Watt 6V 1 Sleeve bearing (PA) 28 Gearhead 1 Shafts and axis 25 Total purchase components per unit

€ 0,20 € 0,40 € 0,40 € 0,50 € 0,20 € 5,00 € 0,50 € 3,00 € 2,00 € 12,20

€ 0,10 € 0,10 € 0,15 € 0,20 € 0,10 € 3,00 € 0,20 € 1,00 € 1,00 € 5,85

Total direct costs gripper per unit

€ 26,38 € 9,58

115

Appendix AB: Arduino Program for Prototype /* Motors: Gripper: Slide:

#define #define #define #define

motor1 (via MD22) motor2 (via MD22)

Switches: Main switch open: Main switch close:

pin 5 pin 6

Switch slide up: Switch slide down:

pin 7 pin 8

Sensors: Encoder on gripper channel A:

Pin 2 [interrupt number 0 (on digital pin 2)]

Encoder on slide motor channel A: Pin 3 [interrupt number 1 (on digital pin 3)] channel B: Pin 11 */

//Values for testing //gripper int gripperSpd = 60;//any positive value < 127 int gripperFrs = 120;//closing force <127 int waitOpen = 1000;//time in ms for waiting to open is object is in gripper int waitTimeObject = 500;// time in ms between encoder checks int minimalEncDiff = 40;// difference in encoder pulses between wait times //slide int slideSpd = 127;//any positive value <127 int waitDown = 500;//time in ms for waiting to slide if object is in gripper int encoderUp = 0;//minimal slide encoder count int encoderDown = 400000;//maximal slide encoder count int accelRate = 255;//any posivive value < 255

//motor speeds int gripperSpeedClose = 128 - gripperSpd; int gripperSpeedOpen = 128 + gripperSpd; int gripperForceClose = 128 - gripperFrs; int slideSpeedUp = 128 - slideSpd; int slideSpeedDown = 128 + slideSpd; int waitTime = 200; //define values for MD22 #include <Wire.h> #define md22Address

116

0x58// address of md 22 (all mode sw

motor1 motor2 accelReg accelRate

0x01// Byte 0x02// Byte 0x03// Byte 0X255//0 to

for first motor for second motor to set acelleration 255 higher is slower acc

//set values for pins int swchOpen = 5;//set Switch Open to pin 5 int swchClose = 6;//set Switch Close to pin 6 int swchUp = 7;//set Switch UP to pin 7 int swchDown = 8;//set Switch Open to pin 8 constint encoder0PinA = 2;//set Gripper Encoder Input to pin 12 (also conn constint encoder1PinA = 3;//set Slide encoder input to pin 3 (also connect constint encoder1PinB = 11;//set Slide encoder input to pin 11 (no interru int ledPin = 13;//LED output pin for testing purpose // int objectTest = 11; //for testing if object is in grippeer //set values for states of buttons and sensors int stateBOpen = 0;//state of open button int stateBClose = 0;//state of close button int stateBUp = 0;//state of up button int stateBDown = 0;//state of down button boolean stateUp =false; //state of Reacher UP counter boolean stateDown =true; //state of Reacher DOWN counter // int stateObjectTest = 0; //state for testing object //other variables boolean objectHeld =false; //to keep track whether an object is in the grip unsigned long timeButtonDown = 0;//the time the down button is pressed unsigned long timeButtonOpen = 0;//the time the open button is pressed volatileunsigned int encoder0Pos = 0; volatileunsigned int encoder1Pos = 2000;//debug the initial position of sl int encoderDiff = 0; int tempEncoderPos = 0; int tempTime = 0; void setup(){ //set all input and output pins pinMode(swchOpen, INPUT); pinMode(swchClose, INPUT); pinMode(swchUp, INPUT); digitalWrite(swchUp, HIGH);//pullup pinMode(swchDown, INPUT); digitalWrite(swchDown, HIGH);//pullup pinMode(encoder0PinA, INPUT); pinMode(encoder1PinA, INPUT); pinMode(encoder1PinB, INPUT); pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);

117

// pinMode(objectTest, INPUT); //MD22 programme Wire.begin(); delay(100);

// Wait for everything t setMode();// Function that sets mo

// encoder pin on interrupt 0 (pin 2) attachInterrupt(0, doEncoder0,CHANGE); // encoder pin on interrupt 1 (pin 3) attachInterrupt(1, doEncoder1,RISING); Serial.begin (9600);//debug remove } void loop(){ // read the state of the buttons and sensors stateBOpen =digitalRead(swchOpen); stateBClose =digitalRead(swchClose); stateBUp = !digitalRead(swchUp); stateBDown = !digitalRead(swchDown); Serial.println(encoder0Pos, DEC);

//debug remove

/* SLIDE UP Button: stateBUp Check for: stateUp (up state can INTERUPT) stateBOpen (Open button) stateBClose (Close button) */ if (stateBUp ==HIGH){ if(stateBOpen == LOW && stateBClose ==LOW){ if (stateUp ==true){ //if reacher gets to end slideOff();//stop sliding } else{ timeButtonDown =millis(); //reset slide button time timeButtonOpen =millis(); //reset gripper button ti slideUp();//call slide up } } } /* SLIDE DOWN Button: stateBDown Check for: stateDown (down state can INTERRUPT)

118

stateBOpen (Open button) stateBClose (Close button) objectHeld (is there an object in the gripper?) timeButtonOpen (is the button held long enough (in case of an o

*/ else if (stateBDown ==HIGH){ if (stateBOpen ==LOW && stateBClose ==LOW){ if (objectHeld ==true){ //is there an object in if (millis() - timeButtonDown >= waitOpen){//is button presed if (stateDown ==true){ //if reacher gets to end slideOff();//stop sliding } else{ timeButtonOpen =millis(); //reset gripper button slideDown();//call slide down } } } else{ if (stateDown ==true){ //if reacher gets to end slideOff();//stop sliding } else{ timeButtonOpen =millis(); //reset gripper button slideDown();//call slide down } } } } /* OPEN GRIPPER Button: stateBOpen Check for: stateBUp (slide up button) stateBDown (slide down button) objectHeld (is there an object in the gripper?) timeButtonOpen (is the button held long enough (in case of an o */ if (stateBOpen ==HIGH){ if (stateBUp ==LOW && stateBDown ==LOW){ if (objectHeld ==true){ if (millis() - timeButtonOpen >= waitOpen){//is button pres digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); //led off if object i timeButtonDown =millis(); //reset slide button gripperOpen();//call gripper open objectHeld =false; //mark as no object } } else { timeButtonDown =millis(); //reset slide button time

}

}

}

objectHeld =false;

gripperOpen();//call gripper open //mark as no object held

/* CLOSE GRIPPER Button: stateBClose Check for: stateBUp (slide up button) stateBDown (slide down button) ojectHeld (object in gripper) */ else if(stateBClose == HIGH && objectHeld ==false){ if(stateBUp == LOW && stateBDown ==LOW){

}

}

timeButtonDown =millis(); //reset slide button time timeButtonOpen =millis(); //reset gripper button ti gripperClose();//call gripper close if (millis() tempTime > waitTimeObject){// encoderDiff = encoder0Pos - tempEncoderPos;//difference // Serial.println(encoderDiff, DEC); //debug re // Serial.println(millis() - tempTime, DEC); //debug remo if (encoderDiff < minimalEncDiff){ objectHeld =true; //mark as obj gripperFist();//call grippe digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); //led burns i } tempTime =millis(); tempEncoderPos = encoder0Pos;//save tempora }

// do nothing with both motors if nothing is presed if (stateBClose ==LOW && stateBOpen ==LOW && stateBUp ==LOW && stateBDow if (objectHeld ==true){ //is there an object in the timeButtonDown =millis(); //reset slide button timer timeButtonOpen =millis(); //reset gripper button time gripperFist();//keep closing gripper moto slideOff();//do nothing with slide motor }

}

else if (objectHeld ==false) { timeButtonDown =millis(); //reset slide button timer timeButtonOpen =millis(); //reset gripper button time gripperOff();//do nothing with gripper m slideOff();//do nothing with slide mo

} } void doEncoder0(){ if (digitalRead(encoder0PinA) == HIGH) { encoder0Pos = encoder0Pos + 1; } } void doEncoder1(){ if (digitalRead(encoder1PinB) == LOW) encoder1Pos = encoder1Pos } else { encoder1Pos = encoder1Pos }

{// check channel B to see which way e - 1;// CCW

+

1;// CW

//check absolute position if extreme is reached if (encoder1Pos < encoderUp) { stateDown =true; } else { stateDown =false; } if (encoder1Pos > encoderDown) { stateUp =true; } else{ stateUp =false; } }

void gripperOpen(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(motor1); Wire.send(gripperSpeedOpen); Wire.endTransmission(); delay(waitTime); } void gripperClose(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(motor1); Wire.send(gripperSpeedClose); Wire.endTransmission();

//(debug change //full speed OPEN

to

motor1)

s

//(debug change //full speed CLOSE

to

motor1)

s

119

}

delay(waitTime);

void gripperFist(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(motor1); Wire.send(gripperForceClose); Wire.endTransmission(); delay(waitTime); } void slideDown(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(motor2); Wire.send(slideSpeedDown); Wire.endTransmission(); delay(waitTime); } void slideUp(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(motor2); Wire.send(slideSpeedUp); Wire.endTransmission(); delay(waitTime); } void gripperOff(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(motor1); Wire.send(128); Wire.endTransmission(); delay(waitTime); } void slideOff(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(motor2); Wire.send(128); Wire.endTransmission(); delay(waitTime); }

void setMode(){ Wire.beginTransmission(md22Address); Wire.send(accelReg); Wire.send(accelRate); Wire.endTransmission();

120

//(debug change //full speed CLOSE

to

//select Sliding //full speed DOWN

//select Sliding //full speed UP

//(debug change //switch OFF

//select //switch OFF

to

Sliding

motor1)

s

motor

motor

motor1)

sel

motor

// Set a value of 255 to

Appendices. Design of a Robotic Personal Assistance Tool for Elderly. Zjenja Doubrovski

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