Collaborative Research: EAGER: Technology-Assisted Accessible Clothing: Soft Robotic Interaction Technologies and an Assessment Framework for Clothing Accessibility

合作研究：EAGER：技术辅助的无障碍服装：软机器人交互技术和服装无障碍评估框架

• 批准号: 2324342
• 负责人: Bradley Holschuh
• 金额: $ 10.01万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2324342&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; EAGER; Technology; Assisted

This research will investigate strategies to quantify, evaluate, and improve physical accessibility of everyday clothing using minimalistic, garment-based assistive soft robotics. To this end, a collaborative effort brings together experts in apparel design, soft robotics, human-computer interaction/human factors, and rehabilitation to explore open questions both in design for accessibility and in garment-based robotics. The project will lay the groundwork for a large-scale study to pursue a future of universally accessible clothing that seamlessly blends everyday garments and soft robotics, and which accommodates users with a variety of abilities, limitations, needs, and objectives. Project outcomes will ultimately lead to new approaches to both evaluate and robotically customize/support body-garment interfaces for a wide range of wearable systems, from everyday clothing to robotic exoskeletons to orthoses/prostheses. Project goals will be pursued through two specific thrusts: (1) Formulate a set of generalizable user-identified evaluation criteria / metrics for assessing accessibility of garments; (2) Design and implement a self-tightening / fastening "robotic belt" as a proof-of-concept prototype of a soft robotic "garment" to establish preliminary evidence of the feasibility and transformative potential of the approach. The novel garment accessibility evaluation metrics and soft-robotic technology proof-of-concept combined will set the stage for the development and deployment o several garment-based soft-robotic accessibility solutions and evaluation of their impact at improving accessibility of everyday clothing compared to existing passive accessibility solutions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项研究将研究使用简约的、基于服装的辅助软机器人技术来量化、评估和改善日常服装的物理可及性的策略。 为此，服装设计、软机器人、人机交互/人为因素和康复领域的专家齐心协力，共同探索无障碍设计和基于服装的机器人技术中的开放性问题。 该项目将为一项大规模研究奠定基础，以追求未来普遍可及的服装，将日常服装和软机器人无缝地融合在一起，并适应具有各种能力、限制、需求和目标的用户。 项目成果最终将带来新的方法来评估和机器人定制/支持各种可穿戴系统的人体服装界面，从日常服装到机器人外骨骼再到矫形器/假肢。项目目标将通过两个具体重点来实现：（1）制定一套可推广的用户识别评估标准/指标，用于评估服装的可及性； （2）设计并实现自紧/紧固“机器人腰带”作为软机器人“服装”的概念验证原型，以建立该方法的可行性和变革潜力的初步证据。 新颖的服装可及性评估指标和软体机器人技术概念验证相结合，将为开发和部署几种基于服装的软体机器人可及性解决方案奠定基础，并评估其与现有服装相比改善日常服装可及性的影响该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。