Surface waves for active transport of bedridden patients

Natural surface waves, created by periodic circular motion of material particles, can transfer a long object placed upon the crests of the waves in an arbitrary direction within the horizontal plane. Inspired by this natural behavior, a surface wave distributed actuation method and its potential for transporting bedridden patients is explored in this paper. First, the basic principle of surface wave distributed actuation is presented, followed by kinematic modeling and analysis. Based on the analysis, modifications to natural wave transport are made to enhance transport efficiency and human comfort. Further kinematic analysis reveals that an object can be transferred by a simplified actuator architecture that makes the concept amenable to hardware realization. Finally, design trade-offs and guidelines for developing a feasible and practical surface wave bed are discussed based on the prototyping and experiments