Robotic Cane Control via Admittance, Dynamic and Impedance: Post-Surgical User Case Study

This paper presents the case study of admittance controller with dynamic compensator and impedance modulation for a Robotic Cane. The admittance controller provides easy control of the device without user instrumentation. Dynamic compensation corrects for the delay of the device's dynamics. Impedance modulation provides the device with a fast and soft response. A female post-surgical user, 1.57m in height, 56kg in weight, and 32 years of age, participates in the experiments, which were carried out on a straight road. The support by Robotic Cane was evaluated applying the NASA TLX, the SUS and one adapted questionnaire. The responses obtained from the experimental test show that the control strategy presented in this paper is appropriate for providing the support required during the rehabilitation stage following knee surgery. The results show a low work load requirement (26.25%), high frequency of use (82.5%), and adequate perceived quality of the user experience (73.3%).