Balance assist/correction robot (prototype)
This is a prototype for a balance assistance robot! The premise is to use a counterweight to move in the opposite direction of the way a person is leaning. This will help shift the center of mass back to its original point and can help prevent someone from falling as well. The final prototype can be seen here on the right.
The picture on the left is our first prototype. The goal was to have the robot move through a hallway-like structure back and forth. This robot could not move fluidly enough nor quick enough to correct or warn the user that their balance was shifting so it needed to be changed.
This first prototype consisted of a stepper motor with wheels attached that slightly protruded from the frame. These wheels can be seen moving in this video. The goal of this prototype was to be compact and quick while also being uniform and having some weight to it.
This is the second prototype aka the "batmobile" design. Less weight was attached to this prototype which allowed it to move faster through the hallway.
We implemented the use of an IMU to be able to tell which way a person was leaning and then coded in python to have the stepper motor drive the robot in the opposite direction to help correct balance. This can be seen in this video as a member of the team tilts on a board, the robot moves back and forth correlating to the tilt.
This is the third prototype which combines the best of the first two. We changed the design of the hallway to make it smaller and was able to make the robot even more compact while still keeping the weight. gears are on both sides of the robot that are in contact with the foam on the floor of the hallway. This allows the robot to move swiftly back and forth. The IMU is placed on the back to properly sense the tilt of the user. The hallway is attached to a backpack so the user can wear it comfortably.
As seen in the video, the user tilts and the robot moves in the opposite direction. Even this small shift in weight can help correct balance or alert the user that their balance is currently shifting.
