{"id":17145,"date":"2014-12-10T16:25:59","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T15:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ibecbarcelona.eu\/?page_id=17145"},"modified":"2016-07-23T02:47:22","modified_gmt":"2016-07-23T00:47:22","slug":"robotics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ibecbarcelona.eu\/es\/research-groups\/former-groups\/robotics\/","title":{"rendered":"Robotics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former members<\/strong>
\nProf. Al\u00edcia Casals<\/a> | Group leader<\/em>
\nNow: UPC \/ Associated researcher, IBEC
\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Description<\/h2>\n
\n The growing potential of robotics in the medical field leads to face challenging problems, but at the same time creates great expectancies to the society, as new devices and equipment are envisioned as killing solutions with respect to current technology. The IBEC\u2019s Robotics group research aims to contribute to the slow but continuous advances in the medical field, in the areas of assistance to disabled, in rehabilitation and assistance in surgery. A common factor in these three areas is the need of adaptation to the user\u2019s needs, what implies perceiving not only the user\u2019s will and status, but also the environment conditions and the evolution of the ongoing activity. <\/strong><\/p>\n
\"Pose<\/a>
Pose descriptor and trisarea as new geometric pose-based feature for human motion recognition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our current research within the HYPER project (Hybrid Neuroprosthetic and Neurorobotic Devices for Functional Compensation and Rehabilitation of Motor Disorders) is to search for new adaptive control algorithms focusing on specific actions, as the transition from sit to stand or keeping the walking pattern under internal or external perturbations. This control has to deal with disturbances caused by muscle synergies, taking into account unpredictable effects of artificial stimulation in muscles during rehabilitation therapies or other effects as fatigue or the own user\u2019s attention to the therapy. In this field, the work carried out has been focused on developing a control system with variable hierarchy and a status evaluator that allows adapting the control variables, mainly the variable stiffness at each joint, to reach the desired response and stability. Being human-robot interaction a key factor in medical robotics, our research in assistive robotics is devoted to interpret human activity and the operation context so as to be able to program robots to cooperate proactively in assisting disabled in their daily tasks. This implies the extraction of relevant image features to recognize human posture and actions and relate them to the context environment and the evolution of tasks and activities, using recognition and learning techniques. The challenge is finding adequate algorithms that are reliable enough and can reduce the amount of data to process so as to be able to operate in real time. Figure 1 shows the original data, the human joints, and the reduction of triangles, trisarea<\/em> feature, that define each posture in a sequence of poses corresponding to the human movement. For the adequate robot control this information has to be compatible with the environment status, thus perception and context interpretation is necessary. Further work has been done on the integration of multiple robot arms to deal with tasks that need cooperative actuation.<\/p>\n

\"Experimental<\/a>
Experimental platform for force estimation and validation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The research in surgical robots has progressed going deeper in the development of robot aids, as the analysis of tissues deformation aiming to solve problems as physiological movement detection for robot motion compensation or for estimation of the force applied on the tissues due to the lack of sensors to be integrated on the surgical tools. Fig. 2 shows a sequence of images of the heart and the changes produced on the heart surface by the forces applied. The image processing operates from the minimization of an energy functional using the l<\/em>_1\u2212regularized optimization class in which cubic b-splines are used to represent the changes produced on the heart surface. In technology transfer, much progress has been done in the spin-off, Rob Surgical Systems S.L, having already started the experimentation with models in an experimental operating room and advancing in the regulatory process. We have also advanced in the Surgitrainer project, a training simulator for minimally invasive surgery and a new specific robotic trainer has been designed, built and evaluated in Hospital de Sant Pau and in the Leuven premises of our partner, as part of the European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy. We are now in process of creating a company. The aim is to progressively advance in new robot surgical techniques that assist surgeons from the training phase to their assistance in clinical interventions. \u00a0<\/strong> \n<\/div>

News\/Jobs<\/h2>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\u201cQuir\u00f2fans assistits per un robot\u201d<\/a><\/h5>\n
09\/12\/14<\/h6>\n

Today, La Vanguardia (left) and Interempresas.net report that Rob Surgical Systems, the IBEC\/UPC spin-off company, has started validating its Bitrack Surgical Robot System for minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.<\/p>\n

\n
Al\u00edcia Casals on ‘Illa Robinson’, El Punt Avui TV \u2028<\/a><\/h5>\n
19\/06\/14<\/h6>\n

On Tuesday, Robotics group leader Al\u00edcia Casals was interviewed about her field of research in the programme ‘Illa Robinson’ on the TV channel El Punt Avui.<\/p>\n

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\u00abBuenos d\u00edas, robot\u00bb \u2028<\/a><\/h5>\n
25\/03\/14<\/h6>\n

IBEC group leaders Al\u00edcia Casals and Santiago Marco feature in a Sunday supplement about robots in La Vanguardia this week.<\/p>\n

\n
\u00abTrabajan con neurorobots para ayudar a la movilidad de pacientes\u00bb \u2028<\/a><\/h5>\n
27\/01\/14<\/h6>\n

IBEC is mentioned in the press today in relation to the HYPER project, of which the Robotics group is a partner. The story reveals the start of some pilot tests with real spine patients at the Hospital Nacional de Parapl\u00e9jicos de Toledo with the robots being developed by the project, which aims to develop new treatments in neurorehabilitation and help with patients’ mobility.<\/p>\n

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RecerCaixa funding for IBEC projects<\/a><\/h5>\n
29\/01\/14<\/h6>\n

Awards will support researchers’ work on a system to aid rehabilitation in children, and improved healing in shoulder injuries<\/p>\n

\n
\u00abM\u00e9s de 450 nens de tot Catalunya faran recerca amb el suport d\u2019investigadors del programa RecerCaixa\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
06\/11\/2013<\/h6>\n

Emili Boronat from IBEC’s Robotics group appeared on TV3’s Info K programme yesterday after taking part in the presentation of the initiative ‘Investiga amb RecerCaixa!’ at Cosmocaixa in Barcelona alongside 9 other researchers from other institutions.<\/p>\n

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A helping hand for budding surgeons<\/a><\/h5>\n
04\/11\/2013<\/h6>\n

A prototype developed by IBEC\u2019s Robotics group and their collaborators was presented at the European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy\u2019s 22nd Annual Congress in Berlin last month.<\/p>\n

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\u00abLes instal\u00b7lacions de Pirelli acolliran una jornada de l’associaci\u00f3 Tic3 del Bages\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
15\/10\/2013<\/h6>\n

IBEC’s Robotics group leader Alicia Casals features in an article in Regi\u00f3 7 (\u00abEl diari de la Catalunya central\u00bb) and other sites about next week’s (re)Make conference on information and communication technologies.<\/p>\n

\n
An audience of thousands<\/a><\/h5>\n
08\/07\/2013<\/h6>\n

IBEC\u2019s Robotics group leader Al\u00edcia Casals represented Catalonia\u2019s scientific community when she and two doctors, a psychiatrist and a biomedical researcher read out a poem at the Concert per la Llibertat at Camp Nou on 29th June.<\/p>\n

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\u00abLa m\u00e0 m\u00e9s precisa d\u2019un cirurgi\u00e0\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
02\/04\/2013<\/h6>\n

Tuesday 2nd April’s edition of Catalan daily magazine Ara features an article about the minimally invasive robotic station for surgery, Bitrack, which is being developed by IBEC’s spin-off company, Rob Surgical Systems.<\/p>\n

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\u00abEntrevista a Al\u00edcia Casals, enginyera industrial especialitzada en rob\u00f2tica\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
12\/03\/2013<\/h6>\n

IBEC’s Robotics group leader Al\u00edcia Casals was interviewed on local radio station Radio Rub\u00ed this week. The interview formed part of the Rub\u00ed al dia programme’s celebration of International Women’s Day by featuring women with interesting jobs.<\/p>\n

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Recercaixa funding for robotics project<\/a><\/h5>\n
01\/03\/2013<\/h6>\n

IBEC Senior Researcher Joan Aranda\u2019s project \u2018InHANDS: rob\u00f2tica interactiva per a l\u2019assist\u00e8ncia humana en l\u2019entorn dom\u00e8stic\u2019 has been awarded funding by the RecerCaixa programme.<\/p>\n

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\u00abUn robot para volver a andar\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
05\/02\/2013<\/h6>\n

Diario Vasco, the daily newspaper published from San Sebastian, featured a report and video about the HYPER project, of which IBEC’s Robotics group is a partner.<\/p>\n

\n
\u00abInvestigant la investigaci\u00f3\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
21\/01\/2013<\/h6>\n

IBEC featured on 8tv’s ‘Equip de Reporters’ programme on Sunday night, which was entitled ‘Investigant la investigaci\u00f3’ and focussed on public and private funding for science. Joan Aranda of the Robotics group demonstrated the experimental robotic kitchen as as example of the group’s privately-supported work in developing intelligent robotic systems. Head of Corporate Projects Arantxa Sants commented on the current financial situation in relation to the research community, pointing out that private funding is always needed and welcome even in affluent times.<\/p>\n

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Immortalised in a card game<\/a><\/h5>\n
31\/12\/2012<\/h6>\n

IBEC\u2019s Al\u00edcia Casals is one of the famous Catalans featured in a new card game aimed at familiarising children with scientific vocabulary.<\/p>\n

\n
\u00abDescobrim l’interior d’un laboratori de rob\u00f2tica\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
12\/1\/2012<\/h6>\n

Al\u00edcia Casals\u2019 Robotics laboratory was featured on Barcelona Televisi\u00f3’s programme \u00abConnexi\u00f3\u00bb on Tuesday 10th January, where they showed some of the robotic devices that the lab is currently developing.<\/p>\n

\n
Robotics on the TV<\/a><\/h5>\n
10\/11\/2011<\/h6>\n

On 23 October, IBEC’s Robotics lab was featured in an episode of \u2018Emprendedores e innovadores\u2019 on TVE2.<\/p>\n

\n
Robotics on the radio<\/a><\/h5>\n
02\/11\/2011<\/h6>\n

Robotics group leader Alicia Casals was interviewed on the Catalunya R\u00e0dio programme \u00abEl Caf\u00e9 de la Rep\u00fablica\u00bb, broadcast on 3 November at 22:00.<\/p>\n

\n
IBEC science at IEC<\/a><\/h5>\n
11\/10\/2011<\/h6>\n

Tonight at the Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC) in Barcelona, IBEC group leader Alicia Casals will inaugurate the beginning of their new academic year with a lecture, \u00abNeurorob\u00f2tica, el repte de la rob\u00f2tica assistencial\u00bb.<\/p>\n

\n
\u00abUn robot tiene que portarse de forma agradable\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
25\/07\/2011<\/h6>\n

PhD student Xavier Giralt was interviewed for the ‘Gente corriente’ section on the back page of Saturday’s El Peri\u00f3dico.<\/p>\n

\n
El 9 Nou: \u00abCal connectar les mans robotiques amb el nervi perqu\u00e8 rebin ordres\u00bb<\/a><\/h5>\n
21\/02\/2011<\/h6>\n

Robotics group leader Al\u00edcia Casals appeared last week in Catalan local paper El 9 Nou, which covers the Osona\/Ripoll\u00e8s and Vall\u00e8s Oriental areas. Al\u00edcia gave a lecture about this century’s challenges in robotics at the 3rd Workshop on Mechatronics at the University of Vic on 16 February.<\/p>\n

\n
Celebrating women in science<\/a><\/h5>\n
10\/12\/2010<\/h6>\n

Al\u00edcia Casals, head of IBEC\u2019s Robotics group and one of the researchers included in the exhibition \u201c16 Catalan Women Scientists\u201d (16 cient\u00edfiques catalanes), will take part in a round table discussion with other participants on 14 December entitled \u201cWomen, Society and Science: Breaking the glass ceiling\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n
Science Careers: Designing a Career in Biomedical Engineering<\/a><\/h5>\n
12\/06\/2010<\/h6>\n

IBEC’s Robotics group leader Al\u00edcia Casals features in an online article in Science Careers magazine, the careers component of the journal Science.<\/p>\n

\n
Recognition for the scientific work of IBEC researcher Al\u00edcia Casals<\/a><\/h5>\n
18\/02\/2010<\/h6>\n

The bioengineer Al\u00edcia Casals, group leader of the robotics research program at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) will be recognized for her work as a research scientist in the \u201c16 Cient\u00edfiques Catalanes\u201d exhibition being organized by the Associaci\u00f3 Catalana de Comunicaci\u00f3 Cient\u00edfica. \n<\/div>

Projects<\/h2>\n
\n<\/p>\n
EU-funded projects<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
HYPER Hybrid NeuroProsthetic and NeuroRobotic Devices for Functional Compensation and Rehabilitation of Motor Disorders<\/strong><\/td>\nCONSOLIDER<\/td>\nAl\u00edcia Casals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
National projects<\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n
Interacci\u00f3n persona robot en entornos semiestructurados bajo criterios de permitividad<\/strong><\/td>\nI+D-Investigaci\u00f3n fundamental no orientada<\/td>\nAl\u00edcia Casals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BITRACK<\/a>: Validaci\u00f3n cl\u00ednica robot quir\u00fargico (2015-2018)<\/strong><\/td>\nMINECO<\/td>\nAl\u00edcia Casals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Privately funded projects<\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
Desenvolupament d’un sistema rob\u00f2tic de baix cost d’ajut a la rehabilitaci\u00f3 de la marxa per a nens amb trastorns greus<\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n
RECERCAIXA<\/td>\nAl\u00edcia Casals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
InHANDS Interactive robotics for Human Assistance iN Domestic Scenarios<\/strong><\/td>\nRECERCAIXA<\/td>\nJoan Aranda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TAM – Desenvolupament d’un sistema intel\u00b7ligent de selecci\u00f3 i manipulaci\u00f3 d’objectes en un entorn est\u00e8ril (2014-2016)<\/strong><\/td>\nTechnologies for Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, S.L.<\/td>\nAl\u00edcia Casals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Desenvolupar un sistema d\u2019assist\u00e8ncia rob\u00f2tica per medicina i cirurgia fetal (2016-2019)<\/strong><\/td>\nCELLEX<\/td>\nAl\u00edcia Casals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Publications<\/h2>\n
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