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.