Human-like Robotic Controllers for Enhanced Motor Learning

Part of paid clinical trials in Chicago, Illinois.

Sponsor
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Study ID
NCT04578665
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 80 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Behavioral Interaction Conditions — BEHAVIORAL
    The participants will be single-blinded and complete a tracking task as either: solo task, collaboration task (both participants work on a common task synchronously to achieve a goal; this is a summative effort to achieve the goal), competition task (each participant has to achieve a goal at the expense of his or her partner, therefore maximizing effort or error of the partner in reaching the goal), or cooperation task (an asymmetric partnership with an active partner and a passive partner working towards a goal).
  • Haptic Impedance Level — DEVICE
    The subjects will complete their task at 3 impedance levels: high (a virtual stiffness 160-200 N/m and damping 0\~10 Nm/s; this will be a stiff connection in which the subjects feel like they are connected via rigid links and each subject will perceive the other partner's movement directly), medium (a virtual stiffness 100-140 N/m and damping 0\~10 Nm/s; this will be a spring like-connection in which the subjects feel like they are connected with a spring and each subject will perceive the other partner with a force that is proportional to the trajectory difference of the two participants), and soft (a virtual stiffness 40-80 N/m and damping 0\~10 Nm/s; this will be a spring like connection in which the subjects feel like they are connected with a loose spring and each subject will perceive the other partner with a force that is proportional to the trajectory difference of the two subjects, however, this force will be smaller than that of the medium impedance).
  • Skill Level of Partner — BEHAVIORAL
    There will be two skill levels: novice (a participant who has no prior experience with the trajectory tracking experiment; in testing with the clinical populations, the investigators will assign this condition to the clinical participant) and expert (a participant who is experienced with the trajectory tracking experiment and who can achieve a tracking error \[difference of the desired trajectory and actual trajectory\] below a certain threshold; in testing with the clinical population, the investigators will assign this condition to the therapist). Participants will start experimentation paired as novice-novice, and at the end of the session may be invited to continue additional sessions to be paired as the expert in a novice-expert dyad.
  • Robot Controller Showcase — DEVICE
    The subjects will complete 10 training sessions per assistive robot for the researchers to observe motor learning and functional outcomes.

Study Details

The purpose of this study is to develop a new paradigm to understand how humans physically interact with each other at a single and at multiple joints, with multiple contact points, so as to synthesize robot controllers that can exhibit human-like behavior when interacting with humans (e.g., exoskeleton) or other co-robots. The investigators will develop models for a single joint robot (i.e. at the ankle joint) that can vary its haptic behavioral interactions at variable impedances, and replicate in a multi-joint robot (i.e. at the ankle, knee, and hip joints). The investigators will collect data from healthy participants and clinical populations to create a controller based on our models to implement in the robots. Then, the investigators will test our models via the robots to investigate the mechanisms underlying enhanced motor learning during different human-human haptic interaction behaviors (i.e. collaboration, competition, and cooperation. This study will be carried out in healthy participants, participants post-stroke, and participants with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Key Dates

Start date
Jul 13, 2021
Status verified
May 2025
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2025
Completion
Dec 31, 2025

Study Design

Enrollment
764 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Healthy Participants Ankle Robot (M1)
    The investigators will look at how the task performance and motor performance of individuals in dyadic physical interactions are affected.
  • Experimental: Healthy Participants Bilateral Lower Limb Exoskeleton (H3/X2)
    The investigators will look at how the task performance and motor performance of individuals in dyadic physical interactions are affected.
  • Experimental: Clinical Populations Ankle Robot (M1)
    The investigators will look at how the task performance and motor performance of individuals in dyadic physical interactions are affected.
  • Experimental: Clinical Populations Bilateral Lower Limb Exoskeleton (H3/X2)
    The investigators will look at how the task performance and motor performance of individuals in dyadic physical interactions are affected.

Primary Outcome Measure

Change in lower limb motor control. [ Time Frame: Motor control will be measured all 10 sessions through study completion, an average of 12 weeks. ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Shirley Ryan AbilityLabChicagoIllinois60611
Jose Pons, Ph.D
[email protected]
312-238-4549
Grace Hoo, BS
[email protected]
312-238-4548
Jose Pons, Ph.D (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

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Shirley Ryan AbilityLab· Chicago, IL

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