Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2021
26th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
Virtual Reality Application for Squat Exercise with Robotic Exoskeleton
Submission Author:
David Zink , SP
Co-Authors:
David Zink, Ícaro Ostan, Adriano Siqueira
Presenter: David Zink
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-1494
Abstract
With the increase in longevity due to advances in medicine and technology, the number of people with physical disabilities who look for therapy rises. Thus, in order to innovate the forms of therapy currently available, exercising games in virtual reality for rehabilitation purposes have been developed. These games are proven to be effective in bringing more engagement during practices, greater pain tolerance and many opportunities for innovation and customization, since the virtual reality environment carries an almost unlimited potential of activities and interactions. Therefore, given the progress in this field, this work explores ways to integrate a lower limbs exoskeleton with virtual reality. Herein, the interaction between the virtual reality environment and the user is felt by creating a haptic feedback system between the two, in which interactions in the virtual world are transmitted to the real world by a series elastic actuator, making the activity more interesting. The virtual reality application is being developed by combining motion tracking elements with changes in the virtual mechanical impedance, so that the user-robot interaction is smooth and fulfills its purpose. The system can be evaluated based on the user performance of the motor task inside virtual reality, such as time to complete the movement and total number of squats. To assess the user experience, existing and customized questionnaires are proposed. Results should elucidate whether the system can deliver a comfortable and engaging experience, as well as provide data about the effort exerted by the user.
Keywords
Rehabilitation, lower limbs, exoskeleton, Virtual Reality, Gaming, Haptic force feedback, squat
