Generic control interface for networked haptic virtual environments

As Virtual Reality pushes the boundaries of the human computer interface new ways of interaction are emerging. One such technology is the integration of haptic interfaces (force-feedback devices) into virtual environments. This modality offers an improved sense of immersion to that achieved when relying only on audio and visual modalities. The paper introduces some of the technical obstacles such as latency and network traffic that need to be overcome for maintaining a high degree of immersion during haptic tasks. The paper describes the advantages of integrating haptic feedback into systems, and presents some of the technical issues inherent in a networked haptic virtual environment. A generic control interface has been developed to seamlessly mesh with existing networked VR development libraries.

A web 2.0 user interface for wide-area resource monitoring

Resource monitoring in distributed systems is required to understand the 'health' of the overall system and to help identify particular problems, such as dysfunctional hardware or faulty system or application software. Monitoring systems such as GridRM provide the ability to connect to any number of different types of monitoring agents and provide different views of the system, based on a client's particular preferences. Web 2.0 technologies, and in particular 'mashups', are emerging as a promising technique for rapidly constructing rich user interfaces, that combine and present data in intuitive ways. This paper describes a Web 2.0 user interface that was created to expose resource data harvested by the GridRM resource monitoring system.

A novel haptic interface for navigation in large volume environments

Haptic interfaces can provide highly realistic interaction with objects within their workspace, but the task of interacting with objects over large areas or volumes is made difficult by the limits of interface travel. This paper details the development of a custom haptic interface - for navigating a large virtual environment (a simulated supermarket), and investigation into different control methods which allow for haptic interaction over extremely large workspaces.

3D path planning with novel multiple 2D layered approach for complex human-robot interaction

Navigating cluttered indoor environments is a difficult problem in indoor service robotics. The Acroboter concept, a novel approach to indoor locomotion, represents unique opportunity to avoid obstacles in indoor environments by navigating the ceiling plane. This mode of locomotion requires the ability to accurately detect obstacles, and plan 3D trajectories through the environment. This paper presents the development of a resilient object tracking system, as well as a novel approach to generating 3D paths suitable for such robot configurations. Distributed human-machine interfacing allowing simulation previewing of actions is also considered in the developed system architecture.

Modeling and simulating a mathematical tool for multi-robot pattern transformation

The work reported in this paper is motivated by the need to investigate general methods for pattern transformation. A formal definition for pattern transformation is provided and four special cases namely, elementary and geometric transformation based on repositioning all and some agents in the pattern are introduced. The need for a mathematical tool and simulations for visualizing the behavior of a transformation method is highlighted. A mathematical method based on the Moebius transformation is proposed. The transformation method involves discretization of events for planning paths of individual robots in a pattern. Simulations on a particle physics simulator are used to validate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Linking human and machine brains

A look is taken here at how the use of implant technology is rapidly diminishing the effects of certain neural illnesses and distinctly increasing the range of abilities of those affected. An indication is given of a number of problem areas in which such technology has already had a profound effect, a key element being the need for a clear interface linking the human brain directly with a computer. In order to assess the possible opportunities, both human and animal studies are reported on. The main thrust of the paper is however a discussion of neural implant experimentation linking the human nervous system bi-directionally with the internet. With this in place neural signals were transmitted to various technological devices to directly control them, in some cases via the internet, and feedback to the brain was obtained from such as the fingertips of a robot hand, ultrasonic (extra) sensory input and neural signals directly from another human's nervous system. Consideration is given to the prospects for neural implant technology in the future, both in the short term as a therapeutic device and in the long term as a form of enhancement, including the realistic potential for thought communication potentially opening up commercial opportunities. Clearly though, an individual whose brain is part human - part machine can have abilities that far surpass those with a human brain alone. Will such an individual exhibit different moral and ethical values to those of a human.? If so, what effects might this have on society?

Multivariate analysis of the Fugl-Meyer outcome measures assessing the effectiveness of GENTLE/S robot-mediated stroke therapy

Background: Robot-mediated therapies offer entirely new approaches to neurorehabilitation. In this paper we present the results obtained from trialling the GENTLE/S neurorehabilitation system assessed using the upper limb section of the Fugl-Meyer ( FM) outcome measure. Methods: We demonstrate the design of our clinical trial and its results analysed using a novel statistical approach based on a multivariate analytical model. This paper provides the rational for using multivariate models in robot-mediated clinical trials and draws conclusions from the clinical data gathered during the GENTLE/S study. Results: The FM outcome measures recorded during the baseline ( 8 sessions), robot-mediated therapy ( 9 sessions) and sling-suspension ( 9 sessions) was analysed using a multiple regression model. The results indicate positive but modest recovery trends favouring both interventions used in GENTLE/S clinical trial. The modest recovery shown occurred at a time late after stroke when changes are not clinically anticipated. Conclusion: This study has applied a new method for analysing clinical data obtained from rehabilitation robotics studies. While the data obtained during the clinical trial is of multivariate nature, having multipoint and progressive nature, the multiple regression model used showed great potential for drawing conclusions from this study. An important conclusion to draw from this paper is that this study has shown that the intervention and control phase both caused changes over a period of 9 sessions in comparison to the baseline. This might indicate that use of new challenging and motivational therapies can influence the outcome of therapies at a point when clinical changes are not expected. Further work is required to investigate the effects arising from early intervention, longer exposure and intensity of the therapies. Finally, more function-oriented robot-mediated therapies or sling-suspension therapies are needed to clarify the effects resulting from each intervention for stroke recovery.