Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Major
Mechanical Engineering
Research Advisor
Song, Yun Seong
Advisor's Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Funding Source
National Science Foundation
Abstract
The vision of developing more advanced robots that physically interact with people begins with the study of how people interact with each other. Even the simplest interactions between humans, such as shaking hands, provides tremendous challenges for current robots and minimal research has been conducted on the inner workings of these interactions. Understanding the process and mechanics behind effective and intuitive physical human-human interaction (pHHI) will yield meaningful insight into designing robots capable of assisting the elderly, operating side by side with workers, or even dancing with people. To study this process, a custom Force Perturbation Handle (FPH) was developed, including the necessary mechanical, electrical, and software components, to study the haptic communication between humans. The device records the forces and torques generated by an interacting human pair and provides controlled outward actuations to measure the pair's response to a sudden force. This device will allow the collection of pHHI data that will be analyzed using a novel stiffness estimation technique developed at pHRl-lab to gain valuable insight into how physical interactions are modulated in humans and its applications for future collaborative robots.
Biography
Henry Tien is a senior in Mechanical Engineering with plans to pursue graduate education at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Since January 2023, he has been conducting undergraduate research in physical Human-Robot Interaction under Dr. Song. He has completed five internships in robotics and warehouse automation and hopes his research will help bridge the gap between humans and robots in industry.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Engineering Poster Session - First Place
Location
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
Presentation Date
10 April 2024, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Development of a Force Perturbation Handle for Physical Interaction Research in Humans
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
The vision of developing more advanced robots that physically interact with people begins with the study of how people interact with each other. Even the simplest interactions between humans, such as shaking hands, provides tremendous challenges for current robots and minimal research has been conducted on the inner workings of these interactions. Understanding the process and mechanics behind effective and intuitive physical human-human interaction (pHHI) will yield meaningful insight into designing robots capable of assisting the elderly, operating side by side with workers, or even dancing with people. To study this process, a custom Force Perturbation Handle (FPH) was developed, including the necessary mechanical, electrical, and software components, to study the haptic communication between humans. The device records the forces and torques generated by an interacting human pair and provides controlled outward actuations to measure the pair's response to a sudden force. This device will allow the collection of pHHI data that will be analyzed using a novel stiffness estimation technique developed at pHRl-lab to gain valuable insight into how physical interactions are modulated in humans and its applications for future collaborative robots.
