PFI:BIC Affordable Flexible Robotic Technology to Enhance Work Performance of Farmers with Mobility Restrictions

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

A growing elderly population is creating a crisis in the farming industry. With the lack of alternative solutions available, robotics could become a welcomed approach for assisting farmers and farm workers with mobility limitations and strength deficits. This award leverages an interdisciplinary academe-industry partnership to jointly develop flexible robotic systems that are designed to be wear by farmers with mobility limitations to assist them in performing activities of daily living. The research team's goal is not only to adapt state-of-the-art flexible robotics technology to the needs of farmers with mobility limitations, but also to educate stakeholders regarding the availability and role of assistive technology to augment their performance at work and improve their quality of life. In particular, the funded effort consists of a combination of 1) technology development in order to take out-of-the-box flexible robotics technology and make it suitable to this particular population; 2) development of a test bed which will allow for technology testing in typical daily activities; 3) coordination of a service delivery system to provide education, health-based agricultural resources, and community-based services addressing life and farm-based goals of farm workers and farm families. The research team aims at demonstrating a new use of flexible robotics for the care of farmers and farm workers while performing their daily activities. The investigators will advance knowledge on the actual design of wearable robots (both hardware and software) that can perform a set of tasks to facilitate farmer's mobility and decrease the possibility of secondary injuries. Specifically, the researchers will develop modules to support the back, knee, and hand and assist with motion of these joints. The research plan includes understanding the motions and activities typically performed by farmers, designing the robotic modules to be comfortable and compatible with being worn daily; understanding the user inputs and adapting control algorithms that will enable the robotic modules to best assist with their wearers' mobility; add and study the impact of flex-sensors and force sensors into the structure of some modules. Additionally, motion information collected by the system will help create a data-driven health monitoring system whereby health service providers could understand how a patient's mobility is changing over time. Undergraduate students will be involved in supplementing graduate student work, in interactions with client farming communities, and in ground-level activities aimed at educating the public in innovative, assistive technologies for people with disabilities. The PFI project plan for educational outreach includes several activities such as summer camps, senior design capstone design experiences, and service learning opportunities for engineering and agriculture students. The lead institution is Virginia Tech with faculty from Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural Leadership, and Community Education, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Engineering Education and the Virginia Cooperative Extension. The primary industrial partners are TORC Robotics (small business, Blacksburg, VA), and Total Motion Physical Therapy (small business, Blacksburg, VA) together with two nonprofit broader context partners, AgrAbility Virginia (nonprofit, Salem, VA) and Easter Seals UCP (United Cerebral Palsy, Salem, VA). It is expected that this partnership will have broader impacts across the National AgrAbility community where engineers, service providers, and industry professionals collaborate to assist injured or disabled farmers in their respective states. In addition, AgrAbility Virginia will provide the means for education, evaluation, and farmer participation in the system design. The synergy of all the institutions involved in this project will facilitate the translation of research and education outcomes to the broad community of farmers.