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La población española está envejeciendo a un ritmo acelerado, diversos estudios demuestran que con la edad aumentan las posibilidades de vivir en soledad, esto sumado al contexto de la pandemia ha provocado que las personas se aíslen más y tiendan a evitar el contacto social, se ha traducido en un aumento de casos de muertes por falta de atención médica. La crisis sanitaria ha generado mucha presión sobre los sistemas sanitarios, la prueba de estrés que ha supuesto esta situación ha evidenciado, la necesidad de modernizar un sistema de salud con importantes deficiencias estructurales y funcionales. Un sistema de monitorización remoto de la salud que no requiera ningún tipo de interacción por parte de la persona monitorizada podría ayudar a complementar las mejoras y avances que se están desarrollando para el sistema sanitario. El problema que busca resolver este proyecto es la velocidad de detección y alerta de las anomalías de la frecuencia cardíaca, a través de un sistema de monitorización no invasivo haciendo uso de dispositivos vestibles. Algunos de los escenarios en los que este proyecto pretende ayudar son, por ejemplo, personas mayores o con algún tipo de discapacidad, especialmente en los casos de vivir o pasar la mayor parte del tiempo solos. También pretende ayudar a centros psiquiátricos,residencias de ancianos, cárceles y centros socio-sanitarios.Se ha implementado con éxito un sistema de monitorización de frecuencia cardíaca en tiempo real para la empresa Soluciones Técnicas Emi Art 95 SL. El proyecto no pretende en ningún caso sustituir la asistencia de profesionales o el uso de tecnologías existentes, sino más bien, servir como herramienta de apoyo ayudando a reducir el tiempo de intervención tras la detección de anomalías en el ritmo cardíaco.

The growing need of technological assistance to provide support to people with special needs demands for systems more and more efficient and with better performances. With this aim, this work tries to advance in a multirobot platform that allows the coordinated control of different agents and other elements in the environment to achieve an autonomous behavior based on the user’s needs or will. Therefore, this environment is structured according to the potentiality of each agent and elements of this environment and of the dynamic context, to generate the adequate actuation plans and the coordination of their execution., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

A día de hoy se han desarrollado numerosos sistemas robóticos para asistir y rehabilitar a personas con movilidad reducida, como por ejemplo los exoesqueletos. A lo largo del planteamiento de nuevas soluciones los investigadores e ingenieros emplean herramientas de simulación como el software OpenSim, que ofrece la posibilidad de recrear el movimiento humano, ahorrando así tiempo y esfuerzo a la hora de idear nuevos sistemas de control o de comprobar la bondad de los existentes. El objeto de este proyecto es el de desarrollar un modelo en OpenSim de la unión entre un exoesqueleto y un modelo musculoesquelético a fin de simular diferentes movimientos, obteniendo así información dinámica y cinemática de las articulaciones del modelo, tanto del exoesqueleto como del sistema musculoesquelético. El desarrollo del modelo se ha realizado utilizando el software SolidWorks para la construcción de la geometría del exoesqueleto y el software OpenSim para la elaboración del modelo completo y la realización de la validación y simulación de la marcha humana sana. Los resultados obtenidos se presentan de forma gráfica a fin de realizar una comparación más visual. Los resultados referentes a la validación del modelo son positivos, ya que los valores obtenidos de la simulación son similares a los extraídos de forma experimental, aunque mejorables. En cuanto a los datos extraídos de la simulación de la marcha humana se asemejan a los valores estándar, por lo que se concluye que lo objetivos planteados para este proyecto se cumplen., Nowadays, numerous robotic systems have been created to assist and rehabilitate people with mobility diseases, such as exoskeletons. Throughout the development of new solutions, researchers and engineers use simulation tools such as OpenSim software, which offers the possibility to recreate human movement, thus saving time and effort when planning new control systems or check the existing ones. The purpose of this project is to create a model in OpenSim of the union between an exoskeleton and a musculoskeletal model in order to simulate different movements, obtaining dynamic and kinematic information of the articulations of the model, both exoskeleton and of the musculoskeletal system. The development of the model was done using SolidWorks software for the geometry files of the exoskeleton and OpenSim software for the development of the complete model, the validation and the simulation of healthy human gait. The results obtained are presented in a graphic way in order to make an easier comparison. The results of the validation are positive, since the values obtained from the simulation are similar to the experimental ones, although they can be improved. Regarding data from the simulation of the healthy human gait, they are similar to the standard values, so it is concluded that the objectives set for this project are achieved., A dia d'avui s'han desenvolupat nombrosos sistemes robòtics per l'assistència i rehabilitació de persones amb mobilitat reduïda, com per exemple els exoesquelets. Al llarg del plantejament de noves solucions els investigadors i enginyers empren eines de simulació com el software OpenSim, que ofereix la possibilitat de recrear el moviment hum`a, estalviant així temps i esforç a l'hora d'idear nous sistemes de control o de comprovar la bondat dels existents. L'objectiu d'aquest projecte ´es el desenvolupar un model en OpenSim de la unió entre un exoesquelet i un model musculoesquelètic amb la finalitat de simular diferents moviments, obtenint així informació dinàmica i cinemàtica de les articulacions del model, tant de l'exoesquelet com del sistema musculoesquelètic. El desenvolupament del model s'ha realitzat mitjan¸cant el software SolidWorks per la construcció de la geometria de l'exoesquelet i el software OpenSim per l'elaboració del model complert i la realització de la validació i simulació de la marxa humana sana. Els resultats obtinguts es presenten de forma gràfica per tal de realitzar una comparació més visual. Els resultats referents a la validació del model són positius, ja que els valors obtinguts de la simulació son similars als extrets de forma experimental, tot i que millorables. En quant a les dades extretes de la simulació de la marxa humana s'assemblen als valors estàndard, pel que es conclou que els objectius plantejats per a aquest projecte es compleixen.

The mobility of the lower extremities may be affected by neurological conditions such as stroke or spinal cord injury. When, motor function, gait coordination and muscle strength are impaired. Rehabilitation can improve the autonomy of legs movement in order to carry out everyday tasks such as walking or stand up, also known as a Sit-To-stand. Sit-To-Stand is a task that requires considerable effort for those who have suffered a stroke or other type of injury. To perform the Sit-To-stand movement there are variables such as force, velocities, position angles, among others that can be modeled with the use of robotic exoskeletons. This project develops a Sit-To-Stand control strategy implemented in a robotic exoskeleton. This is based on previous work on the development of control strategies for the rehabilitation of the Sit-ToStand. Where Sit-To-Stand transition phases combined with position and admittance control strategies are used. The objectives of this project are to find optimal values of the angles of the joints involved in the transition of the phases and to propose an improvement in the control strategy to assist people with lower extremities movements., Incoming

La creciente demanda de soporte tecnológico para la asistencia a personas con necesidades especiales obliga a avanzar tecnológi-camente hacia sistemas más eficientes y con más prestaciones. En esta íinea, en este artículo se describen los avances en el desarrollo de una plataforma que permite el control coordinado de diferentes agentes y otros elementos del entorno para conseguir un comporta-miento autónomo en base a las necesidades o deseos del usuario. Para ello se estructura este entorno en base a la potencialidad de cada agente y elemento del entorno, así como del contexto dinámico, para generar los adecuados planes de actuación y la coordinación en su ejecución, Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Purpose: We aimed to biomechanically evaluate the effect of the supraspinatus tendon on tuberosity stability using two different reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) models for complex proximal humeral fractures (PHFs) Methods: Four-part proximal humeral fractures were simulated in 20 cadaveric shoulders. Two different RSA designs were implemented: a glenosphere-medialized model and a glenosphere-lateralized model. Tuberosities were reconstructed, and displacement of bony fragments was measured (mm) by placing three sensors: in the humeral diaphysis (D), in the greater tuberosity (GT), and in the lesser tuberosity (LT). Axial forces were induced and measured in Newton (N). The test was performed twice in each specimen, with and without the supraspinatus tendon. The regression line (RL) was measured in mm/N. Results: In the medialized model, the GT–D displacement was greater in the supraspinatus preserving model than that in the tendon excision model (p<0.001), as well as for the LT–D displacement (p<0.001). In the lateralized model, GT–D displacement and GT–LT distance were greater in the preserving model than that in the excision model (p<0.001, p=0.04). Conclusion: The supraspinatus tendon resection leads to a more biomechanically stable tuberosity construct when performing RSA for PHFs, while the rest of the rotator cuff tendons (infraspinatus and teres minor) are retained in the greater tuberosity., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Las interfaces BCI tienen ya un cierto grado de desarrollo en el ámbito del diagnóstico y de la interacción persona-computador, sin embargo su aplicación al control de dispositivos robóticos está todavía muy limitado debido a la dificultad de interpretación dinámica. Es por ello que actualmente el control BCI queda muy limitado a órdenes elementales y para el control de robots la información proporcionada por esta interfaz debe complementarse con otros tipos de sensores y estrategias. Este artículo describe las diferentes líneas de trabajo que se llevan a cabo en control volitivo y cooperativo de robots asistenciales en el grupo de investigación de Robótica Inteligente y Sistemas (GRINS) del Centro de investigación en Ingeniería Biomédica (CREB) de la UPC., Peer Reviewed, Preprint

En col·laboració amb la Universitat de Barcelona (UB) i la Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV)., The need of designing and implementing software to prepare robots for the execution of new tasks implies an expensive cost that requires specific hardware, software and knowledge. Learning by demonstration is a paradigm for enabling robots to autonomously perform new tasks learning from previous demonstrations. This project focuses on how to facilitate the learning of new tasks by robots through demonstrations performed by humans. In order to accomplish this goal, this thesis considers two subproblems: imitation and correspondence. Three different algorithms are used in order to solve both subproblems, in addition to a reinforcement learning to improve the final solution through new demonstrations. Moreover, a methodology is proposed to perform experimentation using these algorithms, including a final discussion over their performance and future work.

Sit-to-stand transition is an essential step in a lower limb rehabilitation therapy, mainly for assisting the patient to transit from wheel chair to the next level of therapy. A mixed stiffness-damping control adaptation is proposed for this task which will help in reaching the final position with a constant velocity. A combination of control model is proposed to ensure the initiation and the final stage of the transition, such as to ensure stability and to maintain the equilibrium. The combined control model helps in reaching the goal position with equal participation from the user. For patient studies, such as with paraplegic patients, a combinational control model with muscle stimulation can be included to provide a complete assistance. The role of muscle stimulation and joint movement assistance is also considered in this control model. Further, final stage of this transition must ensure keeping or helping the user to maintain the upright position., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

The huge amount of people who suffer from some form of disability implies that more research has to be done in order to develop efficient robotic technologies for them. Yet, research costs can not be neglected. In this matter, software simulators play a significant role as an alternative approach to minimize such expenses. This project aims to make use of OpenSim API and Simbody API, two C++ libraries in order to prove the feasibility of coupling and simulating an exoskeleton model with a musculoskeletal model. Due to the few information related about how to get it, this thesis embraces many others sub-goals strictly related to the achievement of the primary purpose. The first sub-objective has been to learn OpenSim and Simbody API. As solution proposed in this project has been to create a double pendulum model in OpenSim. The second one has been design a model of an exoskeleton. As a result, it has been implemented in OpenSim, and a controller has been designed to test it. The successful achievement of the previous sub-objectives have allowed to create the simulation of the exoskeleton coupled to the musculoskeletal model and simulate it in OpenSim. Last but not least, the documentation throughout the project in conjunction with the successful achievement of the proposed goals has made possible the creation of this thesis which indeed aims to keep working with the exoskeleton coupled to musculoskeletal model or even become a reference in future robotic orthosis projects build in OpenSim and Simbody APIs.

A real time approach to the recognition of human activity based on the interaction with objects in domestic settings is presented. It is based on capturing partial images where the activity takes place using a color camera, and processing the images to recognize the present objects and their location changes. For object description and recognition, a histogram on a normalized chromaticity space has been selected. The interaction with the objects is classified as four types of possible actions regarding change in location (add, remove, move or unchanged). Activities are defined as receipts, where objects plays the role of ingredients, tools or substitutes. Sensed objects and actions are then used to analyze in real time the probability of the human activity that is being performed at the moment in a continuous activity sequence. Tests are carried on a automated kitchen scenario where proactive assistance wants to be implemented taking into account the early recognition user activity., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

El projecte consisteix en fer un sistema de reconeixement d'objectes en format d'envàs per a una cuina domèstica utilitzant una Kinect 2. El sistema inclou les fases de segmentació, selecció dels descriptors i mètodes d'aprenentatge automàtic adients, i finalment el reconeixement d'aquests., Project oriented to the creation of an object recongition system for a home kitchen using a Kinect 2. The objects are in format of kitchen containers. The system includes the stages of segmentation, feature descriptors and machine learning methods selection, and finally the recognition of the object

Pose-based features have demonstrated to outperform low-levelappearance features in human action recognition. New RGB-D cameras provide locations of human joints with which geometric correspondences can be easily calculated. In this article, a new geometric correspondence between joints called Trisarea feature is presented. It is defined as the area of the triangle formed by three joints. Relevant triangles describing human pose are identified and it is shown how the variation over time of the selected Trisarea features constitutes a descriptor of human action. Experimental results show a comparison with other methods and demonstrate how this Trisarea-based representation can be applied to human action recognition., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

This work introduces an interactive robotic system for assistance, conceived to tackle some of the challenges that domestic environments impose. The system is organized into a network of heterogeneous components that share both physical and logical functions to perform complex tasks. It consists of several robots for object manipulation, an advanced vision system that supplies in-formation about objects in the scene and human activity, and a spatial augmented reality interface that constitutes a comfortable means for interacting with the system. A first analysis based on users’ experiences confirms the importance of having a friendly user interface. The inclusion of context awareness from visual perception enriches this interface allowing the robotic system to become a flexible and proactive assistant., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)