柔軟素材の変形により開眼・閉眼動作を支援する顔面装着型ロボット

抄録

This study proposes a novel facial wearable robot for supporting eyelid movement. This robot is designed for people with facial paralysis, especially on one side of the face. People with facial paralysis are not able to blink which triggers dry eye. From this, we have been developing a robot system to support eyelid movement on the paralyzed side based on the eye closure on the healthy side. This robot has a novel mechanism for supporting the eyelid control, made from soft material, which is called an EyeLid Gating Mechanism (ELGM). ELGM deforms with simple rotational actuation input and its deformation is customized to eyelid movement. Therefore, this robot can provide non-invasive and gentle support for eyelid movement. In this paper, we present the development and performance evaluation of the developed facial wearable robot.