{"70366":{"#nid":"70366","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robots as Rehab Assistants: NSF Emerging Frontiers Award Supports Development of Human-Machine Cooperation","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of \nTechnology will develop a \u201ctherapeutic robot\u201d to help rehabilitate and \nimprove motor skills in people with mobility problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the scientists a \n$2M research grant over four years through its Division of Emerging \nFrontiers in Research and Innovation. The project is called \u201cPartnered \nRehabilitative Movement: Cooperative Human-robot Interactions for Motor \nAssistance, Learning, and Communication.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur vision is to develop robots that will interact with humans as \nboth assistants and movement therapists,\u201d explains principal \ninvestigator Lena Ting, PhD, associate professor in the Coulter \nDepartment of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory \nUniversity. \u201cWe expect our project to have a long-term impact on quality\n of life of individuals with movement difficulties, such as those caused\n by Parkinson\u2019s disease, stroke, and injury, by improving fitness, motor\n skills and social engagement.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe robot developed through the project could enhance, assist and \nimprove motor skills in humans with varying motor capabilities and \ndeficits. Other applications of the technologies and theories developed \ncould include the design of prosthetic devices or sports robots that \nentertain and improve fitness. The researchers also believe their work \nwill advance understanding of how the brain controls movement and other \nfunctions. Madeleine Hackney, PhD, assistant professor of medicine \n(geriatrics) in Emory University School of Medicine is co-principal \ninvestigator of the project. Co-PIs at Georgia Tech are biomedical \nengineering assistant professor Charlie Kemp, PhD, and assistant \nprofessor of interactive computing, Karen Liu, PhD.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe scientists will begin their work by studying how humans use their\n muscles to walk, balance and generate force signals with the hands for \nguidance when moving in cooperation with another person. They will study\n \u201crehabilitative partnered dance,\u201d which has been specifically adapted \nto help improve gait and balance in individuals with motor impairments. \nThe partnered dance is based on tactile and motor cooperation between \ntwo individuals. Prior work by Hackney showed that participation in \npartnered rehabilitative movement improved balance and walking skills in\n individuals with motor deficits due to Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe goal is to then program a humanoid rehabilitation robot to \nperform a \u201cpartnered box step,\u201d which is a defined pattern of weight \nshifts and directional changes, solely based on interpreting movement \ncues from subtle changes in forces between the hands and arms of the \nrobot and the person.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOver the course of the project, the team will test their models of \nhuman sensorimotor coordination, cooperation and communication by \ndemonstrating the robot\u2019s ability to participate in the box step as a \nleader or follower and adapt its movements to the motor skill level of a\n human partner.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Scientists will develop a \u201ctherapeutic robot\u201d to help rehabilitate and improve motor skills in people with mobility problems."}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Scientists will develop a \u201ctherapeutic robot\u201d to help rehabilitate and improve motor skills in people with mobility problems."}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2011-09-28 15:44:02","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:14","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"70367":{"id":"70367","type":"image","title":"(L-R) Lena Ting, Karen Liu, Charlie Kemp and Madeleine Hackney","body":null,"created":"1449177304","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:15:04","changed":"1475894618","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:38","alt":"(L-R) Lena Ting, Karen Liu, Charlie Kemp and Madeleine Hackney","file":{"fid":"192951","name":"tinggroup195.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":54570,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tinggroup195_0.jpg?itok=WT7lZG1k"}}},"media_ids":["70367"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2157","name":"Charlie Kemp"},{"id":"1129","name":"healthcare"},{"id":"2266","name":"Lena Ting"},{"id":"2352","name":"robots"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca title=\u0022Holly Korschun\u0022 href=\u0022mailto:hkorsch@emory.edu\u0022\u003EHolly Korschun\u003C\/a\u003E: 404-727-3990\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}