This patent proposal document provides a complete robot hand control scheme using myoelectric intention estimation of the human being using the kernel Principal Component Analysis Algorithm (kPCA). The robot hand system includes a biometric EMG sensor system, a robot hand including with multiple fingers, a controller connected with the biometric EMG sensor system, and a robot hand. The controller acquires the biometric EMG signal by means of a biometric sensor system, estimates myoelectric motion intention by applying the kernel principal component analysis (kPCA) algorithm using a kernel function, and delivers a control command corresponding to the estimated motion intention of the user to the robot hand.

Disclosed are a body channel communication method and an apparatus performing the same. An operating method of a transmitter includes obtaining an input signal including biometric information, generating an encoded signal and a control signal by encoding the input signal, generating a return-to-zero (RZ) signal of a biphasic waveform based on the encoded signal, and transmitting the RZ signal through a body channel.

A conversion device includes: a unit attribute update unit that specifies a unit associated with a representative value approximating a feature vector for a biological signal, and updates a representative value and energy of the specified unit; a unit update unit that, when a plurality of feature vectors outside a predetermined range of a representative value of a unit of the unit data are acquired within a predetermined time, adds data for a new unit identifier to unit data; a class update unit that, when there is no class including a unit having energy within a predetermined range of energy of the new unit, adds data for a new class identifier to class data; and a motion update unit that updates motion data by associating, with an identifier of a class acquired after updating the class data, an identifier of a motion corresponding to the class.

The invention refers to the area of control of a limb device in the form of an artificial limb for a human or a robot limb. In particular, the invention is related to a control unit for electrically controlling an electrically controllable limb device, the limb device comprising a plurality of actuators, the control unit comprising a first interface for connecting the control unit to the limb device, the control unit comprising a second interface for connecting the control unit to a data gathering device comprising one or more sensing devices, the control unit comprising a processing unit which is arranged for controlling the limb device at least based on data gathered by the data gathering device, wherein the control unit is arranged for outputting one single control action step to the actuators of the limb device calculated by the processing unit based on a first data or data combination received from the data gathering device, and the control unit is arranged for outputting a plurality of control action steps to the actuators of the limb device calculated by the processing unit based on a second data or data combination received from the data gathering device, the second data or data combination being different from the first data or data combination, the plurality of control action steps inducing a more complex automatic movement of the limb device that the one single control action step. The invention further refers to a system comprising such a control unit, a method for controlling an electrically controllable limb device and a computer program.

Disclosed are a body channel communication method and an apparatus performing the same. An operating method of a transmitter includes obtaining an input signal including biometric information, generating an encoded signal and a control signal by encoding the input signal, generating a return-to-zero (RZ) signal of a biphasic waveform based on the encoded signal, and transmitting the RZ signal through a body channel.

Wearable assistance devices and methods of operating the same are provided. A wearable assistance device includes an upper-body interface with a front side and a rear side and a lower-body interface with a front side and a rear side. The assistance device also includes one or more elastic members, each of the elastic members mechanically coupling the upper-body interface to the lower-body interface and extending from the rear side of the upper-body interface to the rear side of the lower-body interface and along a back of the user so as to provide an assistive force parallel to the back of the user. Further, the assistance device also includes a clutch mechanism associated with each one of the elastic members, the clutch mechanism configured for selectively adjusting the assistive force provided by the one of the elastic members.

Wearable assistance devices and methods of operating the same are provided. A wearable assistance device includes an upper-body interface with a front side and a rear side and a lower-body interface with a front side and a rear side. The assistance device also includes one or more elastic members, each of the elastic members mechanically coupling the upper-body interface to the lower-body interface and extending from the rear side of the upper-body interface to the rear side of the lower-body interface and along a back of the user so as to provide an assistive force parallel to the back of the user. Further, the assistance device also includes a clutch mechanism associated with each one of the elastic members, the clutch mechanism configured for selectively adjusting the assistive force provided by the one of the elastic members.

A method and apparatus for calculating a torque of a walking assistance device, the method including receiving a measured joint angle, obtaining a gait parameter with respect to a transition among a predetermined number of gait states based on the joint angle, obtaining a gait cycle based on the joint angle, and obtaining an output torque based on the gait cycle and the gait parameter, is provided.

The invention refers to the area of control of a limb device in the form of an artificial limb for a human or a robot limb. In particular, the invention is related to a control unit for electrically controlling an electrically controllable limb device, the limb device comprising a plurality of actuators, the control unit comprising a first interface for connecting the control unit to the limb device, the control unit comprising a second interface for connecting the control unit to a data gathering device comprising one or more sensing devices, the control unit comprising a processing unit which is arranged for controlling the limb device at least based on data gathered by the data gathering device, wherein the control unit is arranged for outputting one single control action step to the actuators of the limb device calculated by the processing unit based on a first data or data combination received from the data gathering device, and the control unit is arranged for outputting a plurality of control action steps to the actuators of the limb device calculated by the processing unit based on a second data or data combination received from the data gathering device, the second data or data combination being different from the first data or data combination, the plurality of control action steps inducing a more complex automatic movement of the limb device that the one single control action step. The invention further refers to a system comprising such a control unit, a method for controlling an electrically controllable limb device and a computer program.

A method and apparatus for calculating a torque of a walking assistance device, the method including receiving a measured joint angle, obtaining a gait parameter with respect to a transition among a predetermined number of gait states based on the joint angle, obtaining a gait cycle based on the joint angle, and obtaining an output torque based on the gait cycle and the gait parameter, is provided.