ICRA Conference 2024

I presented, at the ICRA 2024 conference, in Yokohama, Japan, a paper named “Short term after-effects of small force fields applied by an upper-limb exoskeleton on inter-joint coordination” written with the help of Agnès Roby-Brami , Ross Parry , and Nathanaël Jarrassé.

This study explores how wearing an exoskeleton—a device designed to assist with movement—affects our inter-joint coordination. Exoskeletons can be helpful in many areas, like improving physical abilities or making work tasks easier. However, we know little about how they influence the body’s natural movement patterns.

The study tested 55 people using an arm exoskeleton that applied little, simulated forces (like friction or too much/little support). Participants performed reaching movements before and after experiencing one of five different types of forces. Researchers measured how these forces impacted the timing and coordination of joint movements.

The results showed that even small forces can change the way joints work together, although overall task performance (like successfully reaching, precision and time completion) stayed the same. The type of force affected coordination differently, changing how much each joint contributed and how well their movements were synchronized.

The key takeaway is that monitoring and understanding these coordination changes is crucial to ensuring exoskeletons are safe and effective for widespread use.

I also participated to the workshop “Innovations and Applications of Human Modelling in Physical Human-Robot Interaction” where I presented a poster.