| Abstract [eng] |
Upper limb motoric function disorder can be caused by many things including sport injuries, accidents, health related problems or strokes. A person affected by this disability not only faces physical problems such as inability to work or perform daily activities but also develops mental illnesses as one becomes isolated from social activities. Rehabilitation is one of the most important aspects of the recovery, and the developed wearable assistance rehabilitation robot will aid not only the person but also a therapist to achieve the results wanted by the patient. The innovation of the developed robot is that it can be worn and easily transported, eliminating the need to attend medical institutions every time the rehabilitation training is needed. The robot frame was designed in order to withstand the required stresses and lightweight. The main material was selected to be the recyclable and biodegradable PLA plastic. For the production of this robot frame a 3D printing FDM method was chosen as an economically beneficial option. The motor-gear assembly as well as the motor controller were selected to ensure the required control of the robot. What is more, inductive proximity sensors for the position feedback were selected and a control algorithm was developed. A 3 point bending test using ISO:178 standard for plastics was conducted. 5 types of specimens ranging in infill density and infill geometrical pattern were tested. The results of the research showed that the best flexural stress resistance were achieved by using a solid infill and concentric infill geometry. However, reducing the infill by 40% only reduced the maximum flexural stress by 32.9 %, and the results were satisfactory for the robot frame application. The conducted research opened a possibility to reduce the robot frame weight by 40% and maintaining the required flexural strength. The novel wearable assistance rehabilitation robot was successfully designed in order to ameliorate the rehabilitation process for the patients with upper limb disability. |
