Abstract: The use of haptic devices has become an advanced tool in the perspective of neurorehabilitation due to the proven eectiveness in stimulating the proprioceptive sensing of post-stroke patients. In this work, pre-existing devices are put together in a remote environment, for the teleassessment of impaired hand conditions. A bilateral control system, based on a four-channel architecture, in presence of large and variable time delay, is proposed as a proof of concept. Time delay is handled
by using the novel approach of communication disturbance observer (CDOB). This system also implements a scaling down compensation value (SDCV) for the CDOB. The proposed control system was tested successfully in a bilateral haptic interaction, simulating a remote motor and functional evaluation of a patient's hand, guaranteeing a safe and a stable interaction, even in presence of large network delays. | |