Motion analysis of wheelchair considering the pectoral girdle mechanism

摘要

The body type of persons using wheelchairs tend to be different from those of persons without disabilities, i.e., the former have limited clothes that suit them. Therefore, we have developed a robot arm simulated human body and motion to evaluate the comfort of clothes for persons using wheelchairs. We will promote the dissemination of fashionable adaptive clothing for wheelchair users, to encourage persons with spinal cord injuries. Having a pectoral girdle mechanism, the robot arm can retarget a motion similar to that of a human. Motion analysis with a near-human model is important for retargeting human motion with the robot arm. We have used attitude sensors to measure the motion of five male participants without disabilities and five participants (three males and two females) with spinal cord injuries. We have analyzed the measured motion using a human model that includes a pectoral girdle mechanism. In this study, we have described the analysis of the human motion of propelling a wheelchair and the usefulness of the pectoral girdle for this motion. We have divided the motion pattern into two groups according to the trunk posture. We confirm that the pectoral girdle is useful for expanding the movable arm region.