Page 14 - Handbook of Biomechatronics

Introduction 7

2.1 Manipulation
The ability to manipulate objects in daily tasks is often hindered by injuries
or neuromuscular disorders. Robotics is the recognized domain responsible
for the development of manipulators in industrial environments. The mul-
tidisciplinary approach embedded in robotics is the most widely followed
forum for mechatronic research. The fusion of mechatronic and physiolog-
ical systems is perhaps best manifested in the field of bio-robotics, which is
growing in two avenues of bio-mimetics and rehabilitation robotics with
many overlapping areas. The former aims at providing services to human
issues by imitating a suitable biological system such as an animal, whereas
the latter focuses on interventional potentials for robotic devices.
In robotic surgery, the accuracy and precision exhibited in the manipu-
lation of an array of instruments during surgical procedures poses some of the
most exciting challenges in decades to come. Interventional radiology as a
specialized medical field is also a ripe environment for the implementation
of telechiric robotic systems when navigation, interaction, and tactile recog-
nition are corner stones of autonomous robotic surgery.

2.2 Locomotion
Biomechatronic specialists have been fascinated with animal and human
locomotion for many years. Human motion studies, from sit-to-stand tasks,
to heavy load manipulation and agile skilled athletic performances are still at
the forefront of opportunities and promise new horizons. A major contri-
bution is also found in walking or running gait by biomechatronic designs.
In the most advanced biomechatronic laboratories the focus is placed on
human locomotion from walking gait to remarkable solutions to above-
knee amputee requirements. Biomimetics is also used to imitate biodynamic
characteristics of physiological systems.
Walking or running gait however, present enormous engineering
challenges. In human gait, a large number of muscles are recruited in coor-
dination so that the lower extremity can exhibit an almost symmetric
dynamic behavior. This highly influential aspect of human mobility is
governed by uniquely adaptable neuromuscular control strategies which rely
on variability in foot placement and neural plasticity to entertain learning
and skill enhancement. Here, balance and dynamic stability present the core
of any optimizations of cost functions in the design of biomechatronic
systems.