Simple self-transfer aid robotic system

A simple self-transfer aid robotic system is proposed in this paper. A person with weak leg muscles who uses a wheel chair is assumed to be the target user. By using the self-transfer aid robotic system, a user can transfer between a wheel chair and a toilet, for example. The proposed self-transfer aid robotic system is a two DOF system of a single link robotic arm with a saddle on the top, and a horizontal rotation mechanism driven manually. A user puts his/her belly on the saddle of the robotic arm, and then the robotic arm lifts the user´s body. After rotating the user´s body, the robotic arm lowers the user´s body. The experiments on the burden measurements to human and the transfer aid robotic system were conducted to design a simple self-transfer aid robotic system. It is confirmed that a long robotic arm is better to decrease the human´s burden; however the robotic burden is increased. The opposite phenomena were obtained using a short robotic arm. Considering the experimental results, a test system of a self-transfer aid robotic system was fabricated. The experiments on the self-transfer aid were conducted with the assistance of elderly test subject. Finally, in order to build into a purchased transfer aid system, the designs of an arm raising control unit are introduced.