指型ウェアラブルデバイスを用いた食事支援システムの開発

抄録

In this study, we developed a meal support system using a wearable mechatronic finger. The finger device was proposed to support a daily grasping task in our previous study and comprised two fingers opposite each other. The present study considers the use of chopsticks with this finger device. We designed an attachment that installs the chopsticks to the device and switches the device function mechanically from grasping to meal support. The chopsticks then contact with the ball of fingers, where a pressure sensor sheet is installed to feedback on the reaction force from the target food. Additionally, an object recognition-based control system is employed to adjust the chopstick motion to the target food. We conducted evaluation experiments of the proposed device with a commercial bento and confirmed that the contents could be picked up with a few kinds of the servo command on the closure angle of the chopsticks.