Embodiment And Co Adaptation Through Human Machine Interfaces At The Border Of Robotics Neuroscience And Psychology

Embodiment and Co-Adaptation Through Human-Machine Interfaces: at the Border of Robotics, Neuroscience and Psychology

Control Strategies for Robotic Exoskeletons to Assist Post-Stroke Hemiparetic Gait

This book presents a new framework to improve the integration of exoskeletons in hemiparetic patients. The idea is to reduce potentially damaging compensatory strategies in the non-paretic leg, by ensuring a proper technology embodiment of the robotic exoskeletons in the nervous system. Upon reviewing control strategies for partial robotic exoskeletons applied to human gait, the book introduces robotic exoskeletons control algorithms, which were developed with the intention to promote gait symmetry by assisting the affected limb of hemiparetic patients according to the movement of the non-paretic leg. This new paradigm aimed at promoting the device's embodiment was expected to counteract the compensation mechanisms, which would become unnecessary and thus disappear. The control strategy relies on the gait phase estimation of the sound leg calculated using an adaptive frequency oscillator and was evaluated on post-stroke patients affected by hemiparetic gait, and the results are described in this book. All in all, this book offers a timely snapshot on control strategies for post-stroke robotic gait assistance. It also presents new findings concerning the role of robotic controllers in the embodiment of such devices, and their implications for new assistance paradigms for people with neurological gait disorders.

Digital Environments and Human Relations

In Digital Environments and Human Ecology: New Perspectives on AI Issues, editors and contributors embark on a multidisciplinary exploration of how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the landscapes of human interactions, societal structures, and individual and collective psychologies. Discussing if and to what extent the digital environment can be considered an extension of our environment, this book investigates the profound implications of AI's integration into our daily life, emphasizing the need for a harmonious coexistence between technological advancements and human-centric values, stressing the importance of sustainability in digital development and, therefore, a renewed Human Ecology. By weaving together insights from computer science, social sciences, philosophy, and environmental studies, this book offers a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between humans and technology. It serves as a vital resource for policymakers, technologists, scholars, and anyone interested in the ethical and ecological implications of digital technologies in our lives.