Development of tremor-suppression filter for meal-assist robot

A robot that supports independent living by assisting with eating and other activities involving the use of the hand using the operator´s own hand would be helpful for people suffering from tremors of the hand or any other body part. In this study, the proposed adaptive filter estimates tremor frequency with a time-varying property and individual differences online, and insulates the voluntary motion signal from the sensor signal containing tremor components. As a result, the developed human-machine interface makes it possible for the person with a tremor to manipulate the supporting robot without causing operability to deteriorate and without hazards due to improper operation.