Exoscarne: Assistive Strategies for an Industrial Meat Cutting System Based on Physical Human-Robot Interaction

• Main Authors: Harsh Maithani, Juan Antonio Corrales Ramon, Laurent Lequievre, Youcef Mezouar, Matthieu Alric
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: physical human-robot interaction; assistive robotics; collaborative robots
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/3907

Musculoskeletal disorders of the wrist are common in the meat industry. A proof of concept of a physical human-robot interaction (pHRI)-based assistive strategy for an industrial meat cutting system is demonstrated which can be transferred to an exoskeleton later. We discuss how a robot can assist a human in pHRI, specifically in the context of an industrial project i.e for the meat cutting industry. We developed an impedance control-based system that enables a KUKA LWR robot to provide assistive forces to a professional butcher while simultaneously allowing motion of the knife (tool) in all degrees of freedom. We developed two assistive strategies — a force amplification strategy and an intent prediction strategy - and integrated them into an impedance controller.