Robot modularity has been an active area of research for several years and many innovative solutions have been developed which have as yet, not made significant impact on the world stage. To assist market developments, ISO robot modularity standardization was started in 2012 and the current paper presents an overview of the work to develop plug-n-play robot module specifications for service robots. Key definitions are presented together with generic modularization issues which have been identified for service robots.

This paper identifies key legal issues which are emerging for Mobile Servant Robots (MSRs), a sub-type of Personal Care Robots (PCR) defined in ISO 13482. New cases are likely to be introduced in the market soon even though appropriate and specific binding legal regulations regarding MSRs are missing and several questions need to be carefully considered. The main issues of concern are the need for a concrete and holistic definition of MSR, clarification on the confusion among new emerging ISO/IEC robot categories (especially between boundaries and gaps in machinery with medical device regulations), unclear liability scenarios (avoiding harm, prospective liability, butterfly effect), defining and regulating human-robot collaborations and relationships, ethical issues (mass surveillance, post-monitoring personal data), autonomy (from the robot but also from the user perspective), isolation scenarios, etc. Despite the recent technical advances, there is still a long way ahead and further research is needed to overcome a variety of associated legal and ethical issues which are emerging. 

The paper presents details of the AAL Call 4 EXO-LEGS project aimed at developing and testing lower body assistive exoskeletons to help elderly persons perform daily living activities independently such as stable standing, sit-to-stand transfers and straight walking. The key components needed have been realized using mobility requirements and design preferences provided by an end user group comprising 118 members via 5 surveys. Modular human-centric concepts are followed for mechanical design, sensing and actuation, system integration, etc., to realize a BASIC exoskeleton prototype able to provide up to 30% power to assist the human perform the intended motions. Two ethical approvals have been obtained to involve end users in the research, development and test phases of the project. To date, 5 test subjects have tested the exoskeleton prototype in walking and the sit-to-stand test; summary results are presented in this paper.

These proceedings present the latest information on regulations and standards for medical and non-medical devices, including wearable robots for gait training and support, design of exoskeletons for the elderly, innovations in assistive robotics, and analysis of human–machine interactions taking into account ergonomic considerations. The rapid development of key mechatronics technologies in recent years has shown that human living standards have significantly improved, and the International Conference on Wearable Sensor and Robot was held in Hangzhou, China from October 16 to 18, 2015, to present research mainly focused on personal-care robots and medical devices. The aim of the conference was to bring together academics, researchers, engineers and students from across the world to discuss state-of-the-art technologies related to various aspects of wearable sensors and robots.  

The paper describes the design details for realising the EXO-LEGS assistive exoskeletons for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) applications based on modelling and simulation studies performed for key mobility functionalities in activities for daily living such as stable standing in open space and straight walking. The results provide the basis for selecting sensors and actuators to develop the needed assistive exoskeletons to help the elderly to stay active and independent for as long as possible.

The world is ageing and this poses a challenge to produce cost-effective solutions that can keep elderly people independent and active by assisting them in daily living activities. In this regard, this paper presents a new control method to provide physical assistance for any of the user joints (e.g., hip, knee, elbow, etc.) as needed by the wearer, by means of an assistive non-medical single joint exoskeleton with a "harmonized controller" capable of providing assistance in a natural way, and varying the assistance as needed by the user performing some activity. The control method is aimed at exoskeletons to provide assistance to users facing difficulty in any activity such as walking, sit-to-stand, etc., and, other than providing assistance as needed, it can also reduce the muscular effort for a completely healthy user. Harmonized control uses exoskeleton-integrated force sensors and motion sensors to identify the user's intentions and the assistance level required, generating appropriate control signals for the actuators by implementing a simple PID controller. To verify the proposed harmonized-control technique, simulations using MATLAB/SIMULINK were performed for a single joint system. An experimental test rig for a single joint was also developed using MATLAB Xpc Target for real-time control. User tests were also carried out for the knee joint and the results obtained from simulations, experimentation and user tests are reported and discussed here. The results achieved to date and reported here show harmonized control to be a promising user-centric solution for the development of single joint assistive exoskeletons for support as needed by the user in daily living activities.

For ageing individuals, declining physical functional capacity can lead to loss of independence, decreased engagement in the community and reductions in quality of life. As such, solutions that can effectively and affordably supplement older adults’ diminishing functional capacity, and thus facilitate maintained independence and social participation over time are urgently required. The AXO-SUIT project - funded by the European Commission under the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme is developing assistive exoskeleton devices for older adults with impaired mobility and/or difficulties in performingactivities of daily living. This paper will report on-going research which aims to identify end user needs, and thus provide inputs to specify the design requirements of the AXO-SUIT exoskeletons. The objectives of this initial questionnaire study are to identify the functional assistance requirements of potential end users of the AXO-SUIT in terms of mobility, reaching and handling, and full-body support for performing activities of daily livingat home and in the wider community. The end user requirements identified will be used to formulate functional specifications for the AXO-SUIT lower-body and upper-body sub-systems, which will ensure that the AXO-SUIT prototypes will provide for the specific mobility, reaching and handling needs of end users, and also to provide useful insights into the perspectives and needs of end users in relation to assistive exoskeletons in general.

Robotic exoskeleton arms have been around for a long time and they have successfully evolved from research prototypes to commercial products. Multipurpose supernumerary robotic limbs (MSRLs) have been recently introduced as new types of aids which do not directly replace missing limbs, but they are additional mechanical arms with changeable end-effectors which can be worn by the user to provide needed functionalities. This paper presents the mechanical design and kinematics modelling and control of a MSRL system. The MSRL presented could have good application in industrial and domestic situations.

Since the 1960’s, robotics has focused on manufacturing robots for use in industrial applications to perform operations such as handling, joining, inspection, machining, spot welding, assembling, etc. In order for the robots to perform their required tasks in these classical applications, the “workpiece” has had to be brought to the robots. Since the mid-1980s, interest has grown in developing new robots for applications where tasks need to be performed in-situ locations demanding that problems of localisation and locomotion are also important. In these scenarios, robot mobility is the key capability, and this can be realised in a variety of ways, e.g., via wheels, tracks, legs, etc. In some applications, the mobile robots also need a climbing capability due to their working environments and tasks to be performed (e.g., inspecting the external walls of tall buildings); these requirements present interesting challenges as seen in the area of climbing and walking robots focussed on by the EC funded Network of Excellence CLAWAR (climbing and walking robots) coordinated by Professor Virk during 1996-2005. Researchers have used CLAWAR to discuss climbing AND walking AND running robots but in fact any form of robot mobility is relevant and presents interesting challenges for robotics.