Graduation Year
2004
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.M.E.
Degree Granting Department
Mechanical Engineering
Major Professor
Dr. Rajiv V. Dubey, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Dr. Shuh-Jing Ying, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Dr. Autar K. Kaw, Ph.D.
Keywords
rehabilitation, assistive device, activities of daily living, tele-manipulation, mobile manipulator
Abstract
Individuals with disabilities yearn for an increased level of independence, seeking to supplement their missing function(s) and to carry on with their lives with minimal or no assistance from another person. A review of the existing assistive-care products has revealed that many of the defects in these devices, particularly in wheelchair-mounted robots, can be alleviated. Surveys have also identified tasks that users would like to perform by themselves, but are constrained from doing so by using currently available devices. An attempt has been made here to try to resolve these issues by developing a prototype of a marsupial robot that can dock into the powered wheelchair that is used for manipulation purposes. The primary function of this system is to assist the user in his/her daily tasks such as pick-up small objects and place them as per the user's commands, push to open/close doors and remove obstacles from the wheelchair path. It is with the objective of providing an enhanced quality of life to a person with impairment(s) that a proposal for a simple, safe and inexpensive approach to assist him/her in performing an activity is made here.
Scholar Commons Citation
Konda, Sashi Kumar, "Design and Testing of a Marsupial/Companion Robot Prototype for a Powered Wheelchair" (2004). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/1116
