ACS(6)340 Biomechatronics

Lecture 1 Introduction to Biomechatronics

Dr Sean Anderson
s.anderson@sheffield.ac.uk

Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering

University of Sheffield

Lecture aims
1. Define the course structure, including:
-Learning Objectives
-Learning Activities
-Assessment and Feedback
2. Introduce and motivate the topic of
biomechatronics.
3. Set course work assignment 1.

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Part 1
Course outline
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What is Biomechatronics?
Biomechatronics describes the integration of the
human body with engineered, mechatronic devices, to:

(i) emulate and replace natural

human function lost through
disease or accident and/or
(ii) augment natural human
function to generate
superhuman abilities.
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Course learning objectives

1. Explain and summarise the motivation, ethical issues
and future challenges in biomechatronics;
2. Analyse, evaluate and compare the design and
construction of biomechatronic technologies;
3. Select and apply appropriate dynamic models and
computational tools to simulate and analyse
biomechatronic systems;
4. Design and construct simple biomechatronic systems
using appropriate hardware and instrumentation;
5. Produce a technical report incorporating details of
biomechatronic design, methods and experimental
results to a standard that a suitably qualified person
could follow and use to obtain similar findings.
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Course overview
Week

Topic

Learning Activity

Week 1

Introduction to Biomechatronics

1 lecture (no lab)

Week 2

Neural Control

1 lecture (no lab)

Week 3

Biomedical Signals

1 lecture, 1 lab

Week 4

Sensors, Power, Control

1 lecture, 1 lab

Week 5

Actuators

1 lecture, 1 lab

Week 6

Individual Project

1 lecture, 1 lab

Week 7

Individual Project

Lab drop-in session

Week 8

Individual Project

Lab drop-in session

Week 9

Individual Project

Lab drop-in session

Week 10

Problem Class + Project

Lecture + Lab drop-in

Week 11

Revision - Exam preparation

No lecture

Week 12

Revision - Exam preparation

No lecture

ACS(6)340 Biomechatronics

Assessment

Assignment 1 due

Assignment 2 due

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Laboratories
Labs are on Mondays, 9-11am, in the Diamond,
DIA-201, i.e. Computer Room 1 (should take ~1.5 hrs)
No lab in weeks 1 or 2.
1. Lab 1 (week 3): Neural control
Intro to Simulink plus modelling/simulation of a neuromuscular
model for prosthetic limb control

2. Lab 2 (week 4): Biomedical signals

Signal processing of EMG plus EMG->force modelling

3. Lab 3 (week 5): Sensors, Power, Control

Human movement observation using inertial meas. unit.

4. Lab 4 (week 6): Actuators

Motors and gearing

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Learning material
1. Printed module handbook, including notes.
2. On MOLE:
-Electronic copies of lecture powerpoint slides.
-Laboratory briefings.
-An example exam paper with solutions.
3. The recommended module textbook is:
Brooker, G., (2012). Introduction to Biomechatronics,
SciTech Publishing

This book is provided by the library for free in a

complete, electronic format as a PDF file from
the IET ebooks catalogue.
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Assessment
Coursework
Assignment 1 (15%): Written summaries of specified
research articles across topics in biomechatronics.
(Learning outcomes 1, 2, 5).
Assignment 2 (35%): Individual technical report based
on an individual project into some aspect of
biomechatronics to include design and/or
computational analysis and/or construction of a simple
biomechatronic device. (Learning outcomes 1-5).

Exam
One 1.5 hour written examination (50%). The exam will
assess learning outcomes 1-4.
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Feedback
Feedback will be given in the following forms:
Interactively during lab sessions.
Written, individual feedback on assignments.
A brief oral summary to the group on
assignment 1 during the relevant lecture.
A brief group summary on assignment 2 by
email at the end of semester.

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Part 2
Overview of Biomechatronics
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Learning objectives
Explain the motivation for biomechatronics,
including healthcare challenges and
associated biomechatronic treatments.
Explain the main components of a
biomechatronic system.
Explain the future challenges in
biomechatronic system design.
Explain the ethical issues associated with
biomechatronic systems.
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Motivation for biomechatronics

There are no disabled people, only
disabled technologies. Prof. H. Herr (MIT)

http://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=7035
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Healthcare challenges
In the 21st Century a number of healthcare
challenges will be addressed through
biomechatronic technology.
Healthcare challenge

Technology

Aging population, paralysis, stroke

Loss of limbs

Exoskeletons
Limb prosthetics

Sight loss
Hearing loss

Bionic eye
Cochlear implants

Heart Disease
Disease such as Parkinsons, Epilepsy

Pacemaker
Implanted electrodes

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Assisted mobility
Exoskeletons can aid movement for
people who have restricted mobility.

Age, Stroke, Paralysis

EKSO Bionics

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Active prosthetics limbs

Active prosthetic limbs
are typically designed to
emulate human
movement, for

Comparison of standard and advanced

lower limb prosthetic

Energy efficiency
Range of activities
Safety
Comfort
Natural look

Biomimetic design goals:

Size and mass
Torque and speed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lkv7iLyiug
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Bionic eye
In age-related macular
degeneration (AMD) and
retinitis pigmentosa (RP)
photoreceptors degrade.

Generating neural activity that

approximates activity in the intact
visual pathway is the overarching
goal of visual prosthetics.
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Cochlear implants
1. Sound:
Information,
Noise.

2. Signal acquisition (Mic)

3. Pre-processing (user control)
4. Signal analysis and processing
(clinician control)
5. Electrical/acoustic
stimulation

6. Auditory
nerve to brain.

Van Himbeeck, C. (2009). Implantable hearing solutions and the quest for the bionic (wo)man.
IET Seminar on Bionic Health: Next Generation Implants, Prosthetics and Devices.

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Part 3

Components of a
Biomechatronic System
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The biomechatronic system

The human subject adds the bio to the mechatronic control and
monitoring process.
The human element is not only the most complex and least understood
but also the most difficult to interface to.

Brooker, G. (2012). Introduction to Biomechatronics. SciTech Publishing: Rayleigh, NC.

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Neural control

TU Delft, 2006,
Biomechatronics.
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Biomedical signals
Biomechatronic devices will often use physiological
signals observed in real-time from the human subject.
E.g. muscle activity
(EMG) and neural/brain
activity (EEG).
Rothschild, R. M. (2010).
Neuroengineering
tools/applications for
bidirectional interfaces,
braincomputer
interfaces, and
neuroprosthetic
implantsa review of
recent progress.
Frontiers in
neuroengineering,
3(112), 1-15.

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Sensors, Power and Control

Biomechatronic systems are
designed/constructed using tools we
are already familiar with
E.g. sensors, control loops, transfer
functions, dynamic models

Eilenberg, M. F., Geyer, H., & Herr, H. (2010). Control of a powered anklefoot prosthesis based on a
neuromuscular model. IEEE Trans. Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 18(2), 164-173.

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Actuators
Standard Actuators
Motors, hydraulics, pneumatics

Future actuators
Shape memory alloys,
electroactive polymers

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Example: EMG control of prosthetic hand

Fig below: 8
channel EMG
control of
prosthetic hand
Closed hand
EMG Signal
8 channel
Open hand
EMG Sensing
and Signal
Processing

Automated
Movement
Classification
and Control

Time
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Part 4

Future Challenges and

Ethical Issues
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Future challenges: overview

Electromechanical
design.
Estimation of
user-intention.
User acceptance.

Kazerooni, H. (2005, August). Exoskeletons for human

power augmentation. In IEEE/RSJ International
Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems,
2005.(IROS 2005). (pp. 3459-3464).

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Future challenges: sensory feedback

Biomechatronic
devices are already
very sophisticated.
However, these
devices tend to lack
full integration with
the body e.g.
sensory feedback
for closed loop
control.
Raspopovic, S., Capogrosso, M., Petrini, F.
M., Bonizzato, M., Rigosa, J., Di Pino, G., ...
& Micera, S. (2014). Restoring natural
sensory feedback in real-time bidirectional
hand prostheses. Science translational
medicine, 6(222), 222ra19-222ra19.

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Motor Command

Decoding

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Ethics in biomechatronics
Ethical timeline
Short term:
Use in research

Medium term: Long term:

Use in Therapy Extensive Enhancement

-Ownership of
intellectual property (IP)
-Benefit versus profit
-Influence of funding
sources

-Cost of BCIs as an
obstacle
-Discomfort/disgust
with augmentation
-Security against
hacking

-Cyborg treatment of humans

-Loss of individuality
(group mind)
-Immortality of mind

Attiah MA and Farah MJ (2014). Minds, motherboards and money: futurism and realism in
the neuroethics of BCI technologies, Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Vol. 8, 1-3.
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Part 5
Assignment 1
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Assignment 1 Task
The task is to read and summarise four research articles, detailed
in the lists below. Each summary should be about 200 words.
Mandatory list. You must include these two papers in your summaries:

Dellon B and Matsuoka Y (2007). Prosthetics, Exoskeletons and Rehabilition. IEEE

Robotics and Automation Magazine, Vol. 14, 30-34.
Attiah MA and Farah MJ (2014). Minds, motherboards and money: futurism and realism
in the neuroethics of BCI technologies. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Vol. 8, 1-3.

Optional list. You must include two papers (only) from this optional list:

Gopura R, Kiguchi K and Bandara D (2011). A brief review on upper extremity robotic
exoskeleton systems. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Industrial and
Information Systems, 346-351.
Haddad, S. A., Houben, R. P., & Serdijin, W. A. (2006). The evolution of pacemakers. IEEE
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, 25 (3), 38-48.
Loizou, P. C. (1999). Introduction to cochlear implants. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and
Biology Magazine, 18(1), 32-42.
Lovell NH, Morley JW, Chen, SC, Hallum LE and Suaning GJ (2010). Biological-Machine
Systems Integration: Engineering the Neural Interface. Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 98,
418-431.
Martin J, Pollock A, Hettinger J (2010). Microprocessor Lower Limb Prosthetics: Review of
Current State of the Art. JPO: Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, Vol. 22, 183-193.

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Assignment 1 Details
Submission date: Monday of week 5
Submit via the Turnitin link on MOLE
Find the papers via Google scholar,
https://scholar.google.co.uk/
Feedback: will be individual, written, on
MOLE, within two weeks of the submission
date.

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